How long can the bank hold the funds for a check I deposit?
My bank, Washington Mutual, where I’ve been banking for 2+ months, continues to hold funds on every check I deposit for a minimum of 4 days, up to 2 weeks. The 4-day rule is for a check from a local bank. The 2 week rule is for non-local checks. They are very uncompromising about these excessive hold times, and get testy when challenged about them. My previous bank never held checks for so long. I have no adverse banking history that would require WaMu to be so careful.
Please don’t tell me only what your bank does; I would like to hear from those who actually know what the Federal regulations are on this matter. I’ve made a few phone calls about this and looked online, but I can’t find reliable, up-to-date information. Thanks for your help.
July 19th, 2010 at 6:44 am
I believe the bank can hold your check until the funds are physically in their possession from the bank the check is drafted on.
That being said in my experience most banks will work with business customers and only hold checks over a certain value or only hold checks from banks you do not have in your regular deposits. If this bank will not work with you my suggestion is to go to one that will.