Law to make checks and other deposits work to your advantage

Written by: Financial Haze

Not many of us are going to the bank to deposit a check these days. Banking practices and technology make it easier for us to deposit checks from home or on mobile devices on the go. However, one aspect of deposits remains constant. It could take few hours to few days to have funds available for withdrawal. This is due the law passed in 1987 and recently amended in 2010. It is the Expedited Funds Availability Act.

Under this Act, it limits the time in between deposit and funds availability for use. Under most current amendment certain deposits that meet the criteria should be available to the account older. When cash, an electronics transfer of funds and certain checks are deposited to your account, funds should be available next business day following the date of deposit. However, many financial institutions are making funds available immediately after the deposit for their customer convenience. However, according to the Act, personal checks and checks over $100, wait time could be longer. It could be up to three to five days. A larger deposit especially checks totaling more than $5,000 may need to follow certain provisions of the law. This is an attempt to prevent money laundering.