Same-day Transfers Terms & Conditions
Updated December 20, 2024
This document (the “Terms and Conditions”) provides you with important information about the details and timing of same-day transfers (“Same-day Transfers”) between your Betterment Checking Account (“Checking”) and Betterment Cash Reserve Account (“Cash Reserve”), between your joint and individual Cash Reserve accounts, or between your cash goals within your Cash Reserve account (collectively, “Eligible Accounts”). Checking Terms & Conditions, available at http://www.betterment.com/legal/everyday-checking, provide additional information about our Checking offering. Cash Reserve Terms & Conditions, available at http://www.betterment.com/legal/cash-reserve, provide additional information about our Cash Reserve offering.
Please read these Terms & Conditions carefully. By using Same-day Transfers, you acknowledge that you have received, carefully read, and agreed to be bound by these Terms & Conditions.
1. Description of Service
Same-day Transfers allow you to make same-day transfers between your Eligible Accounts.
With respect to your Cash Reserve account, Same-day Transfers are provided by Betterment LLC (“Betterment”), instructing MTG LLC d/b/a Betterment Securities (“Betterment Securities”) acting as your agent. With respect to your Checking account, Same-day Transfers are provided by Betterment Financial LLC (“Betterment Financial”, and collectively with Betterment and Betterment Securities, the “Betterment Entities”), facilitated by nbkc bank ("nbkc"), a bank chartered under the laws of the State of Kansas, member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”).
Same-day Transfers will allow nbkc through Betterment Financial to give same-day credit to your Checking account when transferring funds from your Cash Reserve account so that you can use your funds more quickly. Same-day Transfers will also allow Betterment and Betterment Securities to give same-day credit to your applicable Cash Reserve account when transferring funds from your Checking account or other Cash Reserve accounts so that you benefit from additional days of accrued interest relative to a transfer via the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) system, which typically takes 1-3 business days to complete. As described below, certain features of Cash Reserve will be unavailable from the time the Same-day Transfer completes until Betterment’s settlement process is completed. You understand and agree that neither the Betterment Entities nor any other persons make any guarantees regarding the availability of Same-day Transfers at any particular time or for any particular transfer and none of the Betterment Entities shall be liable for any loss, damage or other harm caused by or arising out of any delay or refusal to process a Same-day Transfer.
Same-day Transfers are only available to clients of Betterment and customers of Betterment Financial and nbkc who have agreed to the Betterment Client Agreements, the Consumer Deposit Agreement with nbkc, Checking Terms & Conditions, Cash Reserve Terms & Conditions, and the related documents which govern Checking and Cash Reserve accounts. These Terms & Conditions should be read in conjunction with these other documents and in the event of a conflict between any of these other documents and these Terms & Conditions, these Terms & Conditions shall govern Same-day Transfers.
2. Eligibility
Same-day Transfers are only available for transfers of funds between Eligible Accounts. When initiating a Same-day Transfer, you must have sufficient funds available in your designated Eligible Account from which the transfer is to be made.
Same-day Transfers have a $10 minimum dollar transaction amount and Same-day Transfers between Checking and Cash Reserve accounts are subject to an aggregate daily transaction limit per client, which limit is subject to change by the Betterment Entities at any time in their discretion. Your daily limit will reset each day at 12 A.M. Eastern Time. You acknowledge that Same-day Transfers between your Checking and Cash Reserve accounts in excess of the daily transaction limit or transfers to external accounts will be facilitated using the ACH system and will typically take 1-3 business days to complete.
You represent and warrant that you are either the sole owner or a joint owner of each of the Eligible Accounts and that you have all necessary legal right, power and authority to transfer funds between Eligible Accounts. If you are a joint owner of an Eligible Account, you represent and warrant that you have full authority, acting individually and without notice to any other account owner, to deal with the Betterment Entities as fully and completely as if you were the sole account owner (including without limitation to withdraw or deposit any amount of funds from an Eligible Account), and the Betterment Entities may act on your instructions regarding the Eligible Accounts without liability to other account owners.
3. Capacity
The total amount of Same-day Transfers between Checking and Cash Reserve accounts among all Betterment customers on a daily basis is limited under the terms of Betterment Financial’s arrangement by nbkc. The daily net transfer amount may not exceed Betterment Financial’s overall account limit in its program accounts. When the total amount of net transfers for the day exceeds this limit, Same-day Transfers between Checking and Cash Reserve accounts will be unavailable, and such transfers will be facilitated using the ACH system and will typically take 1-3 business days to complete, which you can review in your Betterment online interface before initiating the transfer.
4. No Guarantees
You understand and agree that neither the Betterment Entities nor any other persons make any guarantees regarding the availability of Same-day Transfers at any particular time or for any particular transfer. You understand that some elements necessary to complete a Same-day Transfer are not within the control of the Betterment Entities and the Betterment Entities are not responsible for the operation of those elements. The Betterment Entities may delay or reject any requested Same-day Transfer for no reason or any reason, including but not limited to, customer transaction ineligibility, program account capacity, insufficient funds, failed risk and fraud reviews, software malfunctions, or legal or regulatory reasons. The Betterment Entities may terminate the Same-day Transfer services at any time in their sole discretion without prior notice to you. You agree that the Betterment Entities will have no liability to you or any other person for any loss, damage or other harm caused by or arising out of any such delay or refusal to process a Same-day Transfer.
5. Transaction Reviews
Prior to the completion of any Same-day Transfer between Checking and Cash Reserve accounts, Betterment will review the transaction(s) and assess whether the transactions are consistent with applicable laws, rules, and regulations and these Terms and Conditions. Betterment may delay or “hold” your transfer request based on its review and at its discretion.
6. No Unlawful or Prohibited Use
As a condition of using Same-day Transfers, you represent and warrant that you will not use Same-day Transfers for any purpose that is unlawful or is not permitted, expressly or implicitly, by these Terms & Conditions, by the Betterment Client Agreements, the terms and conditions governing your Eligible Accounts, or by any applicable law or regulation. You further warrant and represent that you will not use Same-day Transfers in any manner that could damage, disable, or impair the Same-day Transfers service or other Betterment services. In cases of fraud or theft by you acting alone or in concert with others, or in any other circumstances described in the Betterment Client Agreements, the Betterment Entities may exercise a right of set-off for the discharge of any fees, monies, or other obligations owed to the Betterment Entities as further described in the Betterment Client Agreements.
7. Deposit and Withdrawal Procedures
With respect to transfers from your Cash Reserve account, you will instruct Betterment, which will instruct Betterment Securities acting as your agent. With respect to transfers from your Checking account, you will instruct nbkc through Betterment Financial, which acts as your agent.
For a withdrawal request from Cash Reserve to deposit funds in Checking, once Betterment receives your Same-day Transfer request, Betterment will review the request to confirm the transfer is eligible. Once the review is completed and the transfer is eligible, Betterment Financial will instruct nbkc to credit your Checking account and debit Betterment Financial’s program account at nbkc (“Betterment Checking Program Account”). nbkc will take such actions, and Betterment will instruct Betterment Securities to debit your Cash Reserve account and credit Betterment Financial’s program account in its Cash Reserve structure (“Betterment Cash Reserve Program Account”).
For a withdrawal request from Checking to deposit funds in Cash Reserve, similar steps are taken to initiate the Same-day Transfer. Once the reviews are completed and the transfer is eligible, Betterment Financial will then instruct nbkc to debit your Checking account and credit the Betterment Checking Program Account. nbkc will take such actions, and Betterment will instruct Betterment Securities to credit your Cash Reserve account and debit the Betterment Cash Reserve Program Account.
8. Cash Reserve Interest Allocation
Betterment will allocate interest to your applicable Cash Reserve account for Same-day Transfer deposits into Cash Reserve that occur prior to 12 A.M. Eastern Time each calendar day (the “Interest Allocation”). You understand that the Interest Allocation is the final determination of interest entitlement and your official position as of the end of each calendar day, which will be reflected on your client statement.
9. Cash Reserve Funding Allocation
Same-day Transfer requests from Cash Reserve accounts completed in Betterment’s interface prior to 1:00 pm Eastern Time on business days (the “Funding Allocation”) will facilitate the record transmission to Cash Reserve program administrators and fund money movements into and from the Program Banks, as described in the Cash Reserve Terms & Conditions. Notwithstanding your entitlement to interest determined at the daily Interest Allocation, you understand that certain features of Cash Reserve described below may be unavailable from the time of your Same-day Transfer until the next Funding Allocation.
10. FDIC Insurance
With respect to Cash Reserve, you understand that once a Funding Allocation is completed on a business day, the amount of funds available in each Program Bank and eligible for FDIC insurance is set until the following Funding Allocation. Same-day Transfers may occur after the Funding Allocation. You understand that Betterment Cash Reserve Program Banks may be unable to provide you with FDIC insurance up to the Cash Reserve program limits on the amount of your funds following a Same-day Transfer until the subsequent Funding Allocation.
11. Program Bank Exclusions and Cash Reserve Interest Rate
With respect to Cash Reserve, you acknowledge and agree that as a condition of a Same-day Transfer, Betterment may be unable to honor your exclusion of a Program Bank from the time of the completion of the Same-day Transfer until the subsequent Funding Allocation, at which point your exclusion will be honored. You agree that the Betterment Entities will have no liability for any loss, damage or other harm caused by or arising out of any such inability to honor your request to exclude one or more Program Banks prior to the subsequent Funding Allocation.
The annual percentage yield ("APY") on funds held in Cash Reserve represents the weighted average of the APY on deposit balances across Program Banks. The APY is variable and subject to change daily. The APY available to you may be lower if you exclude a Program Bank as ineligible to receive deposits. You acknowledge and agree that as a condition of a Same-day Transfer, the APY available to you may be lower if you exclude a Program Bank regardless of whether Betterment is able to honor your exclusion from the time of the completion of the Same-day Transfer until the subsequent Funding Allocation.
12. Modification
The Betterment Entities may modify these Terms & Conditions at any time upon notice to you, which may be electronic, by means of a letter, an entry on your Betterment Securities brokerage account statement via Cash Reserve, an insert to your Betterment Securities brokerage account statement via Cash Reserve, or by other means. The current Same-day Transfers Terms and Conditions will be available on the website, at http://www.betterment.com/legal/sameday-transfers.