How to Cancel an Auto Draft From Checking

Consumers don’t have to worry about missing payment due dates or writing checks anymore thanks to the ease and convenience of automatic bank drafts. Many businesses offer this service to customers free, allowing them to automatically debit their account on an agreed-upon date each month for the amount due on the account or some portion of it. This method is commonly used to pay for recurring bills such as utilities and car loan payments. But when you no longer wish to have this amount drafted from your bank account, it helps if you make your transition enough ahead of time to prevent payments from mistakenly being deducted from your account.

Visit the website for the business which you intend to cancel your monthly auto bank draft payment. You can find the website address on your most recent account statement or bill or by searching for the company name using an internet search engine. Sign into your account using your previously established user ID and password if applicable. This should have been created when you initially signed up to access your account online.

Navigate to the billing or payment section of your account and select the option to cancel your automatic monthly payment. Select yes when you are prompted to confirm that would like to cancel your automatic bank draft for all future monthly payments. You should be directed to a confirmation page which can be printed for your records, and some companies will automatically email a confirmation of this billing change to account holders.

Confirm that your auto draft cancellation has been successfully processed by viewing your account and payment activity on and after your next payment due date to make sure the bill was not automatically paid from your bank account. Contact the billing department for the company which you have just canceled auto draft services from if you continue to have funds deducted from your bank account or if you have any trouble locating the auto draft section on their website.

Log in to your online banking account by visiting the website for your bank and signing on using your user ID and password. Navigate to the bill pay section and locate the automatic payment information for the auto draft payment that you wish to cancel. Click on the next payment details and select cancel. Select “yes” when you are prompted to confirm that you wish to delete your next scheduled payment and cancel automatic payment drafts for future bills from this company. View your account statement the following month to confirm that the recurring payment was successfully canceled and the payment was not deducted.

Consumers who do not have home access to the internet or do not have online account access can cancel an auto draft payment by contacting by phone the company or financial institution that debits the funds. This method typically requires the consumer to sign and return written authorization to process the request and may take longer to process than an electronic transaction.