The decision to place a check hold is based on several factors such as your account activity, history of frequent overdrafts, or any external information the bank may receive about the check, like if the check has been returned previously or the account it's drawn on has insufficient funds.
The Federal Reserve says that a "reasonable" extended hold generally means one additional business day (total of two business days) for a bank's own checks and five additional business days (total of seven) for most other checks.
According to banking regulations, reasonable periods of time include an extension of up to five business days for most checks. Under certain circumstances, the bank may be able to impose a longer hold if it can establish that the longer hold is reasonable.
If a hold is placed on a deposited check, the bank will notify you and will typically adhere to standard procedures and processing times. If you believe the delay is due to an error, you can call or visit your local branch to go over specifics of your situation with a representative.
Some banks or credit unions may make funds available more quickly than the law requires, and some may expedite funds availability for a fee. If you need the money from a particular check, you can ask the teller when the funds will become available.
Contact Your Bank
If deposited funds are being held for a longer period than you expected, it's a good idea to call, email or stop by a branch of your bank to ask about specifics of its hold policy. You can ask your bank to provide an explanation for the hold or sometimes even to release the hold.
Banks place holds on checks for a number of reasons, and it doesn't mean the deposit won't ever go through. Banks often hold large deposits to ensure the payor has sufficient funds in their account, to prevent fraud, or to verify the check's authenticity.
Generally, it takes two to five business days to get all the funds from a check into your account. However, some factors might hold up the check-clearing process, like the status of your account or the place where you deposited the check.
Banks must report your deposit to the federal government if it's more than $10,000 to alert the federal government to monitor for potential financial crime.
Why does the bank place a hold on my deposit? The hold allows us (and the bank paying the funds) time to validate the check – which can help you avoid potential fees in the event a deposited check is returned unpaid.
Your Deposit Receipt
The funds-availability date on the receipt can tell you when it may be time to contact the bank regarding hold inquiries. If you don't receive a receipt, however, consider contacting your bank. Sometimes, a bank can override the hold for you.
The Federal Reserve requires that a bank hold most checks for a reasonable period of time before crediting the customer's account. A "reasonable" period of time can range from two business days to up to six business days. A hold can also be placed if a bank has reasonable cause to doubt the collectability of the check.
Most check holds are only one or two business days long. However, under certain circumstances, like depositing a large check, the funds may be held for as long as seven business days.
You can ask your bank to remove a check hold, but that doesn't guarantee the bank will comply. If the bank has reason to believe that the check may be fraudulent or that the check writer lacks sufficient funds to cover it, the hold may remain in place for the full window that's allowed by law.
If your bank has placed a hold on a check that you mobile deposited into your account, it means that the funds are not immediately available for withdrawal. During this hold period, you cannot cash the check or access the funds because the bank is verifying the check's authenticity and ensuring that it will clear.
Your bank might be willing to speed things up, especially if you don't have a history of bouncing checks or making bad deposits. In many cases, you won't be able to do anything about a hold.
However, for individual cashier's checks, money orders or traveler's checks that exceed $10,000, the institution that issues the check in exchange for currency is required to report the transaction to the government, so the bank where the check is being deposited doesn't need to.
Often, banks will let you withdraw up to $20,000 per day in person (where they can confirm your identity). Daily withdrawal limits at ATMs tend to be much lower, generally ranging from $300 to $1,000.
Business and Banking Days
open for substantially all its banking activities. Even though a bank may be open for regular business on a Saturday, that day is not considered a banking day for purposes of Regulation CC because Saturday is never a ''business day'' under the regulation.
A federal law, the Expedited Funds Availability Act (EFA), or Regulation CC, provides exceptions that allow banks to delay or "hold" funds deposited by check for an extended period of time. When this happens, you must be given a notice stating the reason for the hold and when your funds are available for withdrawal.
Bottom line. In most cases, a check should clear within one or two business days. There are a few cases in which a check might be held for longer, such as if it's a large deposit amount or an international check. Make sure to review your bank's policies for what to expect in terms of check hold times.
When Can You Remove an Authorization Hold? The merchant can remove an authorization hold at any time. Customers can also call their bank to dispute an authorization hold, which may lead to the bank contacting the merchant and requesting the hold be removed.
And depositing the same check into multiple different checking accounts at multiple banks? Well, that's a big problem. “Even the most rigorous deposit review mechanisms are powerless to identify and reject items that have been previously deposited at other financial institutions,” Meara writes in a recent report.