2 days...not 10 days... (1 Viewer)

[mikemiller1955]

I just left the bank...

I was told that a new law was passed a couple of months ago...

that banks accepting personal checks usually drawn against your account and "pending" until funds clear...

now have to clear them within 2 days...

in other words...

if you accept a personal check payment for an Ebay transaction...

the bank must approve or decline the check within two days after submitting it...

the norm used to be a 10 day wait period...which never really took that long...

so...if you want to pay for a set of figures with a personal check...and your seller tells you it takes 10 days for your check to clear funds before he can mail you your package...

he is wrong...it now takes 2 days...

electronic banking...

 

[Toy Soldier Brigade]

Just one more reason not take a check or money order

 

[theBaron]

Actually, the Federal Reserve regulations already required faster clearing times, depending on the drawing bank's home Fed district, and there were also dollar amounts involved. It's Federal Reserve Regulation CC, "Funds Availability". Basically, the regulation required that a bank make certain kinds of funds available to the depositor on the next business day. But banks can still put holds on some or all funds, under a host of exceptions or requirements.

If the check was drawn on a local bank, a bank within the same Fed district, it was subject to one schedule of availability, and if it was from another district, it was subject to another schedule.

The law that defines the reg was amended to consider all Fed districts as local districts, and that took effect at the start of February. However, the exceptions and requirements are all still in place.

And of course, a private vendor can still insist on his own schedule when accepting a check for payment, just as a merchant doesn't have to accept currency, as long as he posts it (eg, stores that put up a sign that they don't accept $50 or $100 bills).

I used to be a banker, and one of my jobs was training our staff in compliance.

I use PayPal, in any case, much more convenient.

Prost!
Brad

 

[mikemiller1955]

That's a pretty concise reply Brad...

with your financial background...I will defer to you for sure...

I use Paypal as much as possible too...but a lot of customers don't...

Paypals fees are pretty rough too...

fees as high as a credit card...for a merchant...

I owned a restaurant for 27 years and we were able to negotiate better fees because of our volume...but Paypal is strong and I'm too small to negotiate...

but...about a month ago...I bought a piece from a guy that didn't use Paypal...

he asked for a personal check and made me wait 10 days before he would ship...very annoying...

I just found out about this law today...

thought it was interesting and would pass it along...

 

[marco55]

I belong to a credit union and they hold it 2 days but have to make $100 available right away.
Mark

 

[theBaron]

I belong to a credit union and they hold it 2 days but have to make $100 available right away.
Mark

Yep, that's a stipulation of Reg CC, the bank may place a hold on a check, but it must make the first $100 of it available to you immediately. A cash deposit must also be made available immediately.

Prost!
Brad