It's a matter of which revenue source is greater........The float period in which your bank has the funds from a check you deposited, but is on hold for five business days Vs. The fees they will make on bounced checks from retail customers. It's a double edged sword folks, those banks were making gobs of uses with your money during those five day hold periods on checks you deposited into your account. If this system applies to the consumer's check it must also apply to the deposit the consumer makes at the bank.
The float period in which your bank has the funds from a check you deposited, but is on hold for five business days
Thats wrong, has always been wrong, and never will be a correct description of whats going on or what has gone on in the past.
Thats not what it is, or ever will be or has been in the past.
A hold can be placed on an item in between when you give the teller the check and when the other bank gives your bank the money.
Handing the teller a check, despite what you think about it all, is not getting money into your account. The transaction to put money into your account does not take place at the teller window (except cash).
When the bank has that 5 day hold (for example) it means they have NOT collected the funds from the other bank. They are simply not letting you use money that you (and the bank that you deposit into) have not collected yet.
You can wish it for all your life that handing a teller a check means that 'the transaction is done', but its never going to be that way.