How long can a bank or credit union hold funds I deposited?

Tip

Your bank or credit union may have a different timetable for check deposits made through your mobile phone (i.e. by taking a photo of the check within your institution’s mobile banking app). Be sure to ask about their policies.

Next Business Day

In general, the following deposits must be made available by the next business day:

• Cash deposited in-person
• Checks for $225 or less deposited in-person
• Electronic payments (wire transfers and ACH deposits)
• Government, cashier's, and certified checks deposited in-person or at the institution's ATMs
• Personal checks deposited in-person and drawn from the same institution

Your bank or credit union has a cut-off time for what it considers the end of the business day. If you make a deposit after the cut-off time, the bank or credit union can treat your deposit as if it was made on the next business day. A bank or credit union’s cut-off time for receiving deposits can be no earlier than 2:00 p.m. at physical locations and no earlier than noon at an ATM or elsewhere.

Longer Holds

In general, banks or credit unions may hold deposits more than one business day if:

• The account has been open for less than 30 days
• The account has been overdrawn too many times in the last six months (check your bank for specific policies)
• If you made a deposit at an ATM owned by another institution
• The bank believes the deposited check may be uncollectible
• The bank suspects fraud
• There's an unexpected outage or emergency situation like a natural disaster
• You deposit a check for more than $5,525 (see below)

When you deposit a check for more than $5,525:

• $225 must be available the next business day
• Amounts up to $5,525 must be available within two business days if the deposited check is a local check
• Amounts over $5,525 are generally available within seven business days

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