§4002 Expedited Funds Availability Schedules

Summary

Banks and credit unions must make many deposits available quickly. Cash you hand to bank staff or money sent by wire must be ready to withdraw by the next business day. Certain checks (like U.S. Treasury checks, some state and local government checks, the first $200 of checks you deposit that day, some branch-to-branch checks, and cashier’s/certified/teller/depository checks) must also be available the next business day. For most other checks, if the check is drawn on a local bank the money must be available within 1 business day. If the check is drawn on a nonlocal bank the money must be available within 4 business days. For cashing checks, banks must generally let you get the money one business day after the funds become available, but up to $400 (or the ATM’s allowed maximum, but no more than $400) must be available by 5:00 p.m. on that day. That $400 is in addition to the $200 always available under the rule above. Deposits at nonproprietary ATMs may take up to 4 business days; deposits at a bank’s own ATMs follow the same day rules above. The agency that makes the rules must shorten these waiting times as check processing gets faster. If you deposit in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, or the Virgin Islands and the check is drawn outside that area, the wait can be one business day longer. The law also required reports about ATM processing technology to Congress by September 1 of each of the first three calendar years after August 10, 1987. Banks are not required to send returned checks back or notify the bank that gave the check of nonpayment within these exact time frames.