Regulation D is the Federal Reserve rule that sets reserve requirements for banks and credit unions, and for years it was best known to consumers for capping savings account withdrawals at six per month. The Federal Reserve deleted that six-transaction cap from the regulation in April 2020, and as of 2026 the language remains gone and reserve requirement ratios sit at zero percent across all account types.1Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Federal Reserve Board Announces Interim Final Rule to Delete the Six-Per-Month Limit on Convenient Transfers From the Savings Deposit Definition in Regulation D The catch is that your bank can still enforce a limit of its own, so the current Regulation D banking rules are permissive at the federal level but not always at the account level.
What Regulation D Was Designed To Do
Regulation D implements the Federal Reserve’s reserve requirements. Banks and credit unions have historically been required to hold a percentage of certain deposits in reserve rather than lending them out, and the regulation spells out which deposits count and how institutions must classify accounts.2eCFR. 12 CFR Part 204 – Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions (Regulation D)
That classification is where the six-transaction limit came from. Savings accounts and money market deposit accounts carried lower or zero reserve requirements than checking accounts, so the Fed needed a way to keep them from functioning as checking accounts. If a savings account allowed unlimited electronic transfers, the reserve math fell apart. Capping “convenient” transfers at six per statement cycle was the mechanism that kept the categories distinct.
The Old Six-Transaction Limit
Under the former rule, savings deposits and MMDAs were limited to no more than six convenient transfers or withdrawals per statement cycle.3Federal Register. Regulation D – Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions The word “convenient” defined which transactions counted.
Transfers that counted toward the six included online and mobile transfers, automatic and pre-authorized transfers (recurring bill pay, overdraft protection sweeps, scheduled transfers), phone transfers, ACH payments, and checks or debit card payments drawn on a money market account. Transactions that did not count included withdrawals made in person at a branch, ATM withdrawals, and withdrawals requested by mail. The logic was that if you had to physically show up or wait for the mail, you were not using the account like checking.
Going over the cap had teeth. Many banks charged a per-transaction excess withdrawal fee, and if you repeatedly exceeded six transfers, the bank was required to either convert your savings account into a checking account or strip away its electronic transfer capabilities. Reclassification usually meant losing the higher savings interest rate and sometimes picking up new monthly maintenance fees.
Why the Federal Reserve Removed the Cap
On April 24, 2020, the Federal Reserve announced an interim final rule deleting the six-transaction limit from the savings deposit definition, effective immediately.1Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Federal Reserve Board Announces Interim Final Rule to Delete the Six-Per-Month Limit on Convenient Transfers From the Savings Deposit Definition in Regulation D The change came during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the underlying reason was structural.
Effective March 26, 2020, the Fed had already reduced reserve requirement ratios to zero percent on all net transaction accounts. Once every deposit category carried the same zero percent requirement, the regulatory reason to keep savings accounts out of the transaction-account bucket disappeared. The six-transaction limit had no monetary policy job left to do.3Federal Register. Regulation D – Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions
The Rules in 2026
The transaction limit language is gone from the regulation. The current definition of “savings deposit” in 12 CFR 204.2(d) now states that a depositor may make transfers and withdrawals “regardless of the number of such transfers and withdrawals or the manner in which such transfers and withdrawals are made.”4eCFR. 12 CFR 204.2 – Definitions This was a deletion from the regulatory text, not a temporary suspension.
Reserve requirement ratios also remain at zero percent across all deposit categories for 2026. A November 2025 Federal Register notice confirmed that while the statutory indexation of certain exemption thresholds still occurs each year, it has no practical effect because the reserve requirement itself is zero.5Federal Register. Regulation D – Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions The Fed has given no indication it plans to reinstate reserve requirements, so the framework that produced the six-transaction limit has no current mechanism to bring it back.
The change applies to all savings deposits covered by Regulation D. The Fed’s announcement referred broadly to “savings deposits” and “customers” without distinguishing personal from business accounts, so business savings accounts get the same treatment.1Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Federal Reserve Board Announces Interim Final Rule to Delete the Six-Per-Month Limit on Convenient Transfers From the Savings Deposit Definition in Regulation D
Your Bank Can Still Set Its Own Limit
This is the part that surprises people. The federal rule change permits banks to drop the limit, but it does not require them to. The Fed’s own guidance on the rule change was explicit that institutions could choose whether to change their practices.3Federal Register. Regulation D – Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions
Many banks, including a lot of online banks, have removed savings transaction caps entirely. Others kept limits in place as internal policy, sometimes with the same six-per-month number and sometimes with a different threshold. Some use the limit to discourage customers from treating high-yield savings accounts like checking. Others simply have not updated their account agreements.
If a limit still applies to you, it comes from your account agreement, not from the Federal Reserve. Check the deposit agreement or call and ask two questions: does the account have a monthly transaction limit, and what happens if you go over it. The answer can vary by account tier within the same bank.
Disclosure Rules That Still Protect You
Where a bank imposes its own transaction limits, the Truth in Savings Act (Regulation DD) governs how those limits and any related fees must be disclosed. When you open an account, the bank must clearly state limitations on the number of withdrawals and any fees that may be imposed.6eCFR. 12 CFR Part 1030 – Truth in Savings (Regulation DD)
If your bank later adds a new transaction limit or raises a withdrawal fee, it must mail or deliver written notice at least 30 calendar days before the change takes effect. Fees you are actually charged must be itemized on your periodic statement by type and dollar amount. If the bank reclassifies your savings account to a checking account because of excessive transactions, that change in terms also triggers advance-disclosure requirements, and any resulting change in interest rate or fees has to be spelled out.
One Boundary Worth Knowing: MMDA vs. Money Market Fund
Money market deposit accounts (MMDAs) and money market mutual funds sound almost identical and are constantly confused. They are different products under different rules.
An MMDA is a bank product. It is covered by Regulation D, insured by the FDIC (or NCUA at credit unions) up to $250,000 per depositor, and pays a stated interest rate. These are the accounts that were subject to the old six-transaction limit.
A money market mutual fund is an investment product held through a brokerage. It is not FDIC-insured, not covered by Regulation D, and not subject to bank transaction limits. It invests in short-term securities and can fluctuate, though funds aim to hold a stable $1.00 share price. Nothing in this article about savings transaction limits applies to a money market fund.