If you bank at Bank of America, never make an ATM deposit there, especially if the money’s coming from another bank. Here’s why…
I’m a Bank of America account-holder, which is to say I’ve also been a Bank of America hostage. Casino all jackpot games.
Bank of America Third-Party Check Cashing Policy. Bank of America will cash or deposit a third-party check in some cases, but not all. A third-party check is one that has been made payable “to the order of X,” where X is another person designated by the original payee. There are strict regulations for cashing or depositing a third-party.
For the last week, Bank of America has held a $2,080 deposit of mine — written by my business partner off her account with another bank — as “delayed.” For a week. For seven days, Bank of America customer service agents either wouldn’t or couldn’t explain why I could not access money that was properly deposited and is MY money.
Bank Of America Check Deposit Limit
However if you deposit a check, it could take a whole business day to become available. Bank of America might place a hold that ranges from two to seven days. The daily cutoff time for a check deposit is 9 p.m. ET and CT and 8 p.m. MT and PT or on a weekend. Then, the next business day counts as the first day. Paperless Deposits. Bank of America has been part of the trend to shift to paperless deposits. These deposits allow customers to drop a check in the ATM without an envelope. Instead, the ATM reads the information from the check, and the customer's receipt includes an image of the check. If you use Bank of America's iPhone app to deposit checks, beware. You could lose thousands of dollars, because though the app tells you that your deposits go through, the bank may later disallow. At Santander Bank, you’ll generally pay $15 per check, while at Wells Fargo and Bank of America, the fee is $12. The fee might even be higher for international checks. The fee might even be.
Until last night.
After I raised a stink on social media (which is a #WiseStrategy you should read about here), a very professional BofA social media agent reached out. She explained to me that because I deposited the check via an ATM inside my neighborhood Bank of America branch and because the check was an unusual amount ($2,080? Not exactly a fortune) written from another bank’s account, it triggered a 7-day delay in making the funds available.
Well, that triggered me — not only because my own bank was holding my money hostage, but also because my bank may have violated federal law.
According to BankRate.com, federal regulations require that local funds deposited via an ATM must be made available no later than the second business day after the deposit, as long as the check was deposited on a banking day (mine was a non-holiday Monday), and the check was deposited in an ATM owned by the depositor’s bank (it was). Non-local checks can be held for five business days, but not a day longer.
As if she were doing me a favor, the BofA social media agent proudly announced she would release my funds to me, even though BofA sent me a notice that it intended to delay the deposit as long as eightbusiness days — again, in violation of federal regulations according to BankRate.com.
Of course, I have neither the time nor the money to sue Bank of America. But I do have my blog and the bully pulpit of Wise Choices…and I will soon be taking my banking elsewhere.
Just so you know, here’s BankRate.com’s summary of federal regulations regarding the availability of deposited funds:
Bank Of America Check Deposit
- Banks must post or provide a notice at each ATM location that funds deposited in the ATM may not be available for immediate withdrawal.
- If a bank makes funds from deposits at an ATM it doesn’t own available for withdrawal later than funds from deposits at an ATM it does own, it must provide a description of how the customer can tell the difference between the two ATMs.
- If you deposit money in an ATM that isn’t owned by your bank, the funds must be available for withdrawal not later than the fifth business day following the banking day on which the funds are deposited.
- Funds deposited at an ATM that is not on or within 50 feet of the premises of the bank are considered deposited on the day funds are removed from the ATM, if funds are not normally removed from the ATM more than two times each week.
- A bank that operates an off-premises ATM from which deposits are not removed more than two times each week must disclose at or on the ATM the days on which deposits made at the ATM will be considered received.
- Funds deposited at a staffed facility, ATM or contractual branch are considered deposited when they are received at the staffed facility, ATM or contractual branch.
Bank Of America Cash Deposit Rules
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