So banks CAN move money quickly

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#1

Ive posted this point on GMS too (Im back there btw) to get a range of views :slight_smile:

Sam from British Bucks did a UK transfer to me earlier, out of hours, and the money left his account and cleared in mine in minutes. Maybe 10-15 at most. I dont think he did anything that he doesnt do with every transfer, its just that we now have this “fast pay” here. So it begs the questions, why do they keep hold of our money for so long?

Id be quite interested to hear how long wires and checks take to clear in other countries as I have a feeling that UK banks are scammers! A check here takes about 5 days, wires or bank to bank transfers are usually 3 business days.

#2

Re: So banks CAN move money quickly

Interesting, the times I have used wire transfers or had them sent, it has taken usually up to 4 hours. I’ve sent transfers to my host, had accounts send them, and the longest was 4 hours. Should note the one’s I received came from the States, were sent in the Am. One’s I have sent were done in the AM as well… which might/might not have any bearing. I should also note, they were sent directly from the bank, not through internet banking options.

#3

Re: So banks CAN move money quickly

Thats very interesting. How long would it take for a check to clear? I mean if they can do that in 4 hours, which is a reasonable time frame, what about checks?

Im thinking maybe the result of this thread will be that yet again, Britian is behind the rest of the world.

#4

Re: So banks CAN move money quickly

On my business account, all my checks are available the very next business day.

#5

Re: So banks CAN move money quickly

Do you believe me if I say that I cannot send out $4k from Italy to a British bank?

#6

Re: So banks CAN move money quickly

it usually takes between 4 and 24 hours for me to receive a wire from canada or the uk. my checks clear instantly.

#7

Re: So banks CAN move money quickly

Yes! If I had to guess, Id say that British banks would think thats “ever such alot of money” and there “must be a reason why your sending it” which “must be dodgy” and would ask you to show how every penny was earned?

British banks are assholes, owned by assholes, run by assholes and staffed by usually OK people who follow the assholes rules. To the fucking letter…

#8

Re: So banks CAN move money quickly

The checks I get from Canada clear instantly too.

#9

Re: So banks CAN move money quickly

[QUOTE=marcjacob;20353]Yes! If I had to guess, Id say that British banks would think thats “ever such alot of money” and there “must be a reason why your sending it” which “must be dodgy” and would ask you to show how every penny was earned?

British banks are assholes, owned by assholes, run by assholes and staffed by usually OK people who follow the assholes rules. To the fucking letter…[/QUOTE]

The same on my side, Italian banks. Double assholes, double pains.

#10

Re: So banks CAN move money quickly

I think a lot depends on your relationship with your particular branch. My US Dollar account, cheques get cleared immediately, and are available instantly. Same with deposits of cheques to my other accounts. Though when a new teller comes on, the automatic procedure is a hold on cheques for up to 7 days for local, up to 14 on USA, and 30 for all others. I just tell them to check with the manager or the note that is on our file, that clears it up then. Banks are laws unto themselves everywhere I think.

#11

Re: So banks CAN move money quickly

Banks have long taken advantage of “clearing time” to earn interest on the money.

Wire transfers should take no more than 15-30 minutes, an hour at most, but some banks take a day or more to post them.

ACH takes longer, sometimes 24-48 hours.

Check clearing in the US, these days, should take no longer than 24 hours since it’s all electronic (banks don’t forward hard copies of checks any more) but banks still get away with the fraudulent “10 day hold” BS simply so they can earn interest on the money.

At least that’s my take :slight_smile:

#12

Re: So banks CAN move money quickly

To be fair, cheques in the UK go through a standard clearing cycle, which is as follows:

Day 0 - Deposit cheque, overnight they are sorted according to which bank they are to be drawn on

Day 1 - Banks exchange their cheques by post

Day 2 - Banks exchange the value of their cheques, issuing banks decide which cheques to honour, issuing customer’s account is debited

Day 3 - Cheques can now be drawn over the counter in a branch, but may not reflect in the balance of the account

Day 4 - The money is available for withdrawal by any form

Day 5 - Nothing happens

Day 6 - This is the last day the bank can take back funds for uncleared cheques

So there is a couple of days worth of admin to do, hence not instant like the US, and it is a very old fashioned way of doing it.

#13

Re: So banks CAN move money quickly

[QUOTE=gaydemon_jr;20373]To be fair, cheques in the UK go through a standard clearing cycle, which is as follows:

Day 0 - Deposit cheque, overnight they are sorted according to which bank they are to be drawn on

Day 1 - Banks exchange their cheques by post

Day 2 - Banks exchange the value of their cheques, issuing banks decide which cheques to honour, issuing customer’s account is debited

Day 3 - Cheques can now be drawn over the counter in a branch, but may not reflect in the balance of the account

Day 4 - The money is available for withdrawal by any form

Day 5 - Nothing happens

Day 6 - This is the last day the bank can take back funds for uncleared cheques

So there is a couple of days worth of admin to do, hence not instant like the US, and it is a very old fashioned way of doing it.[/QUOTE]

But they can do a wire in 10-15 minutes. They dont NEED to do all that, they could automate it and do it in minutes nots days.

#14

Re: So banks CAN move money quickly

Absolutely. But I guess the problem will be on them all agreeing on a system to use.

It took years and years of independent campaigning to get the new faster payments system, so god knows how long it will take to simplify the cheque clearing system.

#15

Re: So banks CAN move money quickly

I guess the issue is that the banks hold all the cards.

#16

Re: So banks CAN move money quickly

they do, for a fact.

#17

Re: So banks CAN move money quickly

[QUOTE=marcjacob;20336]
Id be quite interested to hear how long wires and checks take to clear in other countries as I have a feeling that UK banks are scammers! A check here takes about 5 days, wires or bank to bank transfers are usually 3 business days.[/QUOTE]

as already mentioned, most deposits can be payable “instantly” and are completely dependent upon the relationship you have with your bank

if you have a “good” relationship and history with your bank here in the US, funds should usually be made available instantly from transfers, wires, checks, etc.

it helps if: you have funds in the account to cover the deposit and/or you have a good history of deposits from the same source, the amount of funds being deposited is similar to other deposits made on a regular basis, etc…

of course, if an unusually large amount is deposited from an unknown source, a bank officer can always wave “hold” periods if the officer knows you and sees that your account is in good standing -

and of course, don’t expect to walk into a branch office somewhere and expect to cash a $10,000 check against a foreign check if you only have $100 on deposit in your bank account - this can be done but again, only if you have an exceptional relationship with your bank

in the US, all “hand written checks” are cleared fairly quickly after being entered into the depositor’s bank system but they must usually go through an “intermediary bank” such as the Federal Reserve if there are two different banks involved (that would be if the payee and depositor have two different banks) - and, the process of moving them around is another thing all together - there are also other types of “banks” that could be part of the process - correspondent banks or a clearinghouse bank is also likely to get involved -

I guess that everyone wants to get involved somehow! because it all gives people something to do? and they all make money each and every time the money is touched - my 3¢