Brave New World,...at the bank.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Check 21 is the name of new banking rules going into effect on Oct 28th,...like it or not.

The core of these changes is that the bank doesn’t have to move your check from the butcher’s bank, to your bank, before they take your money. No float, so don’t write that check until the money is there.

Write those checks carefully because there will be no more "stop payment".

Once this is up to speed (and it won’t take long) you won’t get your cancelled check back. You’ll get a “substitute check” and the bank where your check was cashed/deposited is supposed to destroy the original.

Since the checks you deposit are cashed almost instantly, you’re deposits should be credited to your account right away,.........BUT NOOOOOO. That’s up to the bank’s "check hold times" which are not affected by this law.

Your bank may ask you to sign a voluntary Check Truncation form. DON’T DO IT! If you sign it, you’ll lose some of the protections afforded you in this law. The biggest one is, if your check is converted to a “substitute check” more than once, (by *cough* accident), they have to credit the money back within 10 days. Unless you sign the form, in which case you’re looking at 45 days or more.

So check (pun) out the Federal Reserve link about and question your bank before you get burnt.

[Vindwyn]

I think some places are already doing that kind of thing. I know that at Old Navy and Minit Mart stores the funds are automatically deducted from your account. Then, they give you back your check with all the receipt info printed on it.

I miss the days when checks bought you a little extra time on your bills.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Vindwyn, thats Electronic Check Conversion which is another can 'o worms and covered by a different set of laws. It is the same as using a debit card, in that you're giving them your account number to snatch the money directly from your account. If the clerck says you don't have enough to cover it, look for a bounced check fee from the bank.

[Undertoad]

I have gotten repeatedly burnt by my credit union's 7 day hold on certain checks... including checks written from my business, to myself, from a bank across the street.

J said I shold go in, CASH it, and deposit the cash... would that work?

[wolf]

Except that until your check written to cash clears, you are actually receiving a temporary loan from your bank ... some banks also have a clearance hold on all deposits, including cash.

I am seriously considering going back to the old fashioned kind of direct deposit. Right into the mattress.

I actually do know someone who has no bank accounts. He gets his paycheck, and on payday goes to the bank upon which said check is drawn, cashes it, and then distributes the cash to budgeted purposes including things like the mortgage, food allotment, etc.

He's pretty unique in that he doesn't have any outstanding debt.

[BrianR]

I work my payroll checks that way Toad. I cash them at the issuing bank then take the cash to my bank and deposit THAT. I get the credit in 24 hours rather than five working days. Makes a few auto-payments I have go smoother.

Brian

[wolf]

I fear the notion of autopay. I individually authorize any withdrawals from my account.

And have an overdraft line of credit, just in case.

[smoothmoniker]

direct deposit. auto billpay. automatic wire transfer to savings every monday. auto payment of credit card balance.

I used to get burned everytime I left town for a gig. now the finances are bulletproof. love it.

[Griff]

Yah, we're pretty much full auto now (maybe you like the idea better expressed that way Wolf?) I really need to dig up a cash gig for discretionary income though.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Every payday a modified armored car parks in front of Boeing and cashes checks for a very reasonable fee. They do a big business from people that don't have bank accounts, don't want their spouses to know what they make, or have bookies/loan sharks that want their money,TODAY!

[glatt]

I chose to use the same bank that my longtime employer uses. That way, direct deposits from their account into my account are posted the same day.

[smoothmoniker]

all direct deposits are posted the same day ... I get them from 3 different sources, and they always post the same day they go in.

[Clodfobble]

I think it's irrelevant where it comes from, it only matters where it's going in; i.e. what your bank's policy is (unless you're saying you have accounts at three different banks.) My bank, a local credit union, always posts deposits of any kind within an hour or two. My best friend's bank, on the other hand (Bank of America) has a standard five-day waiting period before deposits are posted.

[xoxoxoBruce]

My paychecks are direct deposited from some bank out west to my local bank, on Thursdays. The money is there at 12:01 AM, everytime.

[russotto]

Most banks charge a fee and many require a fingerprint even to cash a check drawn on themselves, if the check is cashed by a non-accountholder. That's obnoxious.