Availability Schedule

You get a check. You deposit it in the bank. But now you have to wait before you can spend the money. What's up with that?

We'll tell you what's up with that: the availability schedule.

This procedure enumerates the number of days it takes for a deposited check to be made available to the depositing account holder. This time range is actually set by Expedited Funds Availability Act (EFAA) of 1987, not the individual bank itself.

There are 4 types of holds and each has a different time frame.

Statutory holds can be put on any deposit, and require at least a portion of the deposit be made available the following business day (the bank can stagger deposits if it's a large amount, so they have time to verify the check). Large deposits can be placed on deposits over $5,000 (or several deposits totaling that) and again allow the bank to stagger payments starting on the first business day. New account holds can be placed on checks going into accounts open 30 days or less, and allow a time period of 9 business days to cash.

Lastly, exception holds can be placed on accounts or checks that basically don't fit in the other categories but the bank still feels like it should be suspicious of the check. For instance, if the check has been returned previously, or if the account has been overdrawn repeatedly before this deposit. These holds allow 7 business days.