Qonto's Overdraft feature gives you instant peace of mind when facing short-term liquidity gaps 💪
It's a credit facility linked to your account that lets you spend more than your available balance up to an agreed limit. Unlike our Deferred Debit Card or Pay Later, Overdraft covers all payment types—transfers, direct debits, card payments, and more—ensuring your payments always go through.
You only pay interest on the amount you actually use, calculated daily and collected quarterly. With transparent pricing and a straightforward 60-day repayment period, Overdraft acts as your always-on safety net for unpredictable cash flow needs.
Available on 💻 web and 📱 mobile for eligible Qonto accounts in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and The Netherlands.
What is Overdraft and how does it work?
Overdraft is a short-term credit facility that allows you to execute payments even when your account balance is insufficient, up to a pre-approved limit.
How it works: Once activated, Overdraft automatically covers almost any payment that would otherwise be declined due to insufficient funds. Interest is charged only on the amount you use, not on your total approved limit. The facility is always-on, meaning you don't need to request it each time—it simply activates when needed.
Two types of overdraft:
- Authorized Overdraft: The credit facility approved by Qonto when you sign your contract, allowing you to draw funds beyond your available balance up to an agreed limit
- Unauthorized Overdraft: An overdraft that occurs when your account goes negative due to transactions or events that fall outside your authorized overdraft facility. This typically happens from unexpected debits such as direct debit returns (refunds), cheque returns (if the cheque you deposited is rejected after the funds were spent)
Your authorized overdraft must be repaid within 60 days of initiation to maintain good standing. This means your account:
- Cannot be in a negative balance for more than 60 days.
- Must go positive at least once within the 60-day period.
How do I activate Overdraft on my account?
To activate Overdraft from your account page:
- Go to Business account > Accounts from the left-hand menu
- Select your Main account
- Click on Activate overdraft in the account options menu
To activate Overdraft from the account details page:
- Go to Business account > Accounts and click on your Main account
- Scroll down to the Overdraft section at the bottom of the page
- Click on Activate overdraft
Review your offer and estimate interest: Once you click to activate, you'll see your personalized offer including your overdraft limit, applicable APR, and an interactive interest calculator. Use the sliders to adjust the amount overdrawn and days in overdraft to estimate your interest costs before committing.
Sign your contract: After reviewing your offer, click Continue to contract signature. You'll be directed to sign your Overdraft contract electronically via Yousign (e-signature required for legal compliance). Simply review the contract terms and add your electronic signature.
Start using Overdraft immediately: Once your contract is signed, you'll see a confirmation message: "You're all set. Your contract is signed. You can now start using your [€X,XXX] overdraft." Click Go to Overdraft to view your new facility, and it will be immediately active on your main account.
Am I eligible for Overdraft?
Eligibility for Overdraft depends on several factors related to your account history and business health.
Initial eligibility requirements:
- Minimum of 10 debit transactions performed on your account
- No active debt collection proceedings
- No ongoing insolvency proceedings
- Account in good standing with no serious payment incidents
- Your company must be at least 6 months old
Maintaining eligibility during the product lifecycle: Once eligible, you keep access to Overdraft unless specific conditions are triggered, including account blocking, initiation of debt collection or insolvency proceedings, being overdue on capital repayment for 5 days, or having unpaid interest fo 60 days after the grace period.
What is my Overdraft limit?
Your Overdraft limit depends on your company type, account age, and financial activity.
How your actual limit is calculated: Your specific limit is determined by taking 33% of your median monthly income over the last 6 months. For newer clients with less than 6 months of history, we calculate the median based on the available months.
Your limit is designed to provide meaningful support while ensuring responsible credit management.
What payment types does Overdraft cover?
Overdraft covers most payment types you use daily, ensuring seamless business operations even during cash flow gaps.
Covered payment types:
- Direct Debits: Automatic payments to third parties like utility bills and subscriptions
- Standing Orders: Recurring fixed payments such as rent or loan repayments
- Card Payments: Point-of-sale authorized transactions (in-store or online), offline card payments (without authorization), and late presentment card payments
- Bank Transfers: Outgoing SEPA, SWIFT, and internal transfers initiated by you
- Salary Transfers: Transfers to any members of your Qonto account considered as salary payments
- Payment Links: For accepting card payments, PayPal, iDeal, and Apple Pay
Not covered payment types:
- Cheque payments and cheque rejections
- ATM withdrawals
- Bank transfers to self that are not salary payments
- Transfers to sub-accounts when main account has a negative balance or using the overdraft amount.
- Pay Later installments and late fees
- Deferred Debit Card charges and late fees
- Qonto monthly/yearly subscription fees
- Other Qonto service fees
- Overdraft interest
- Seizure
- pagoPA
- F24
This comprehensive coverage ensures your critical business payments execute reliably across all channels.
How much interest will I pay and when?
Interest on Overdraft is charged only on the amount you actually use, calculated daily based on your country's applicable rate.
Interest collection schedule: Interest is collected quarterly on the first day of the following quarter, based on your usage during the quarter:
- Q1 (January–March): Interest collected on 1st April
- Q2 (April–June): Interest collected on 1st July
- Q3 (July–September): Interest collected on 1st October
- Q4 (October–December): Interest collected on 1st January
The rates are updated quarterly based on official sources.
How usage and interest are displayed:
Overdraft usage and notifications are based on your authorized balance, which includes pending transactions, and are updated in real time.
Interest calculations, on the other hand, are based on your settled balance and are updated once a day.
As a result, the interest amount shown on your Overdraft details screen may appear slightly lower than your current actual usage. This is expected: pending transactions need to clear first before they are reflected in the interest calculation.
How do I repay my Overdraft?
Repaying your Overdraft is straightforward: simply bring your account balance back to zero (0€) or above within the authorized period.
Authorized Overdraft repayment: You have up to 60 days from the date you initiate your authorized overdraft to settle the overdrawn amount and return to a zero (0€) balance or above. This means if you go into overdraft on January 15th, you must return to a positive balance by March 14th.
Interest payment and grace period: When interest is collected quarterly (on the 1st day of the next quarter), if you cannot pay because your balance is insufficient or you're still within your authorized 60-day overdraft window, you have an additional 60 days to settle the outstanding interest. No late fees apply during this grace period.
What happens if I don't repay on time:
- After 60 days in overdraft: If you fail to return to a positive balance (0€ or above) by day 60, your account will be debit blocked. This means you won't be able to make any new debit transactions, but interest will continue to accrue on the overdrawn amount
- After 5 days overdue on capital: If your account remains debit blocked for 5 additional days (day 35 total), you will lose future access to Overdraft. Your eligibility will be revoked
- For unpaid interest: If you cannot pay your quarterly interest on the collection date (because your balance is insufficient or you're still within your 60-day overdraft window), you have a 60-day grace period. If interest remains unpaid after these 60 days, you will lose future access to Overdraft
Unauthorized overdraft repayment: Transactions such as direct debit refunds or cheque returns that cause an unauthorized overdraft will trigger an immediate repayment request. You must resolve these situations promptly to maintain your Overdraft facility.
What happens if I can't repay or miss a payment?
Failing to repay your Overdraft within the required timeframes can result in account restrictions and loss of access to the feature.
Account blocking scenarios: Your account may be debit blocked if you fail to repay your authorized overdraft (return to at least 0€ balance) within 60 days from initiation, if interest remains unpaid after the 60-day grace period following the quarterly collection date, or if you have an unauthorized overdraft that hasn't been resolved.
Loss of eligibility:
You will permanently lose eligibility for Overdraft if your capital repayment is overdue for more than 5 days after the 60-day repayment window, or if your interest remains unpaid for 60 days after it is charged.
No additional late fees: Qonto does not charge specific late fees on top of the standard interest. However, you will continue to accrue daily interest on any overdrawn amount beyond the 60-day authorized period, meaning your total interest charges will increase the longer the overdraft remains unpaid.
Debt recovery:
If your Overdraft remains unresolved beyond the maximum overdraft period plus 14 additional days, your account will be referred to an external debt recovery agency.
Can I use Overdraft alongside other Qonto credit products?
Qonto offers several credit products, Overdraft, Pay Later, and Credit Card and using one may affect your eligibility or available limit for the others. Here is what you need to know:
If you already have an active Pay Later contract:
- If your remaining available Pay Later credit is equal to or greater than your eligible Overdraft amount, you can still activate Overdraft. However, your Pay Later credit limit will be reduced by the amount of your Overdraft limit. You will be informed of this on the Overdraft activation screen.
- If your remaining available Pay Later credit is less than your eligible Overdraft amount, you will automatically lose eligibility for Overdraft and the option will not appear in your interface.
If you do not yet have an active Pay Later contract:
- If you activate Overdraft or create a credit card, your available Pay Later credit will be adjusted accordingly when you proceed to activate Pay Later.
Credit card and Overdraft:
- There is no dependency between your Credit card limit and your Overdraft limit. Activating one does not affect the other.
Loss of eligibility across all credit products:
You will lose access to all Qonto financing products simultaneously if any of the following occurs:
- You fail to repay a Pay Later installment within 5 days of the due date
- Your Credit card repayment is not settled by the required date
- Your account remains in overdraft for 6 or more days (after the 60 days of authorized overdraft)