What to do the day a payment bounces

A returned payment starts two clocks. The bank charges a returned-item fee, and the biller starts its own late policy — and those are two separate conversations, on the same day.

In this order

• Fund the account before the biller retries. Most retry within two to three business days, and a second return costs a second fee.
• Call the biller, not just the bank. Utilities and insurers can move a due date; banks cannot do that for you.
• Then ask about the fee. The courtesy waiver works the same way it does for overdrafts.

Covering the gap before the retry is what actually stops the second fee.