Quote:
Originally Posted by Martian
I would guess that if you asked the right person you'd get a lot of info about processing times and such. I don't know a whole lot about how the US banking system handles such things,....
Other than that, I can only parrot what's already been said (and is, incidentally, also known as Martian's Secret to Debt Free Living): don't spend money you don't have.
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I directed my sister, who is a branch manager for a regional bank in Kansas, to this thread. She said it is full of conjecture and misinformation from people who hate banks, but really don't know how anything actually works. Here are some of her comments:
Xerxys, transactions don't even go to the bank in order. The timestamp is for the convenience of you and the merchant, not the bank. Businesses send out (what they call "settle") their debit and credit card transactions in batches, not continuously. A high traffic business (Target, WalMart, etc) may settle every few minutes. A small business (or vending machine) settle only once a day, at midnight.
An ATM is more likely to settle in "real time" because it is real money, not merchandise, and to keep track of how much money has been dispensed by the ATM machine.
In Kansas, (and she thinks all states) when the bank closes its business day (most often at 3:00 or 4:00pm) ALL DEPOSITS for that day MUST be credited before any debits are posted.
She challenges anyone to show actual documentation of it being done the other way.
Many banks do pay large drafts first. She says that this is to protect "high value" transactions. Most states have serious penalties for large NSF transactions. Also, do you really want the bank to pay a bunch of small items, and then have the $1000 check to the IRS, or your landlord or mortgage, be the one that bounces?? This practice is becoming less common with electronic processing, when each transaction would be paid in the order in which it is presented to the bank. But that still won't necessarily be in the order in which you made the transactions. And deposits would still post first.
Just some solid information from someone on the other side of the counter at the bank. She suggest that if you are really unhappy, to "vote with your feet." There are lots of banks, smaller banks, community banks, and credit unions tend to be more flexible.
She also suggests using cash for small transactions, because they are so easy to forget. And banks really don't like making $2.00 loans so you can buy a soda.
Lindy
On the road, in Kansas
