Have you ever had a check held at a bank in the United States? Do you know the reasons? In Globe Live Media we tell you some reasons why it can happen
Paying certain economic commitments with a check is usually a generally safe operation, however, it may be money that you cannot access immediately in your bank account, since it takes a few days for the bank to release the cash.
It is an operation that banks usually do, retain the check, before making available to you the amount in cash that is subscribed there. What you need to know is that financial institutions can withhold check deposits, including those deposited to personal or business checking and savings accounts.
When we talk about a hold, we mean a temporary delay that prevents payees from accessing the check funds for a certain period of time. It is not an illegal process and it refers to the availability of funds, that is, the period of time that must pass before you can use or withdraw the money that has been deposited by check.
In Globe Live Media we are going to list some of the reasons why a check can be withheld:
1.- By verification
This means that a bank will withhold a check from you until it can verify that it is a legitimate transaction and that the person who gave it has sufficient funds to cover the amount written.
2.- Opening of a new account
It is normal that when the accounts are new, they suffer check retention. There are even banks that retain them for up to 30 days from the opening date.
3.- For insisting on depositing a check
This applies to those checks that do not have funds and that, in an attempt to deposit them to the account, are re-deposited several times. With this action, what the bank does is stop them from returning it to you from a new account.
4.- For large quantities
Large amounts will always be subject to review. When it comes to a check, banks usually withhold them when they are for large amounts to verify that the customers who signed it have sufficient funds to pay that amount.
5.- Bank history
Banks may also consider your account history and activity when deciding when to put a hold on a check. For example, to find out if you have deposited checks that have bounced or if you have deposited checks and made transactions that led to the overdraft.
6.- Suspicion of fraud
If they believe that the issued check may come from fraud, they will retain it until the proper investigations are done.