You have just entered the payment twilight zone

[cheapdoggy]

Here's a little tale of woe that I just experienced....
I had to make an AMEX payment that was due on the 18th. Last Saturday (the 12th) I mailed the payment and 10 minutes later made the deposit (cash at an ATM) into my checking account for that payment. This remember was a Saturday (approx noon). I was thinking that AMEX would receive the payment after the deposit cleared probably on Tuesday. Well I checked my checking account on Sunday and it was processed on Sunday! Now I know that I should have waited till it cleared but I thought I was OK, because no way would they get it.I guess you really can't complain about the speed of the USPS!!!
I just got banged for a $25 insufficient funds charge.

[disneysteve]

Two comments:

1. You should never write a check for money that you don't yet have in your account. That's a dangerous game to play, as you discovered.

2. Why are you mailing payments rather than paying electronically?

[MonkeyMama]

Also, when I deposit my checks they clear immediately. Or was this because you deposited it after the bank closed Saturday??? Hmmmm...

Honestly I would have assumed the same - mailing a payment on a saturday would not clear until Monday earliest. I guess the mail was super fast and Amex was working Sunday - bummer.

[sweeps]

Keep in mind that USPS transports mail over the weekend; banks do very little on weekends. I've mailed letters on Saturday and they've arrived at their destination on Monday. On the other hand I've made an ATM deposit on Friday and not had it fully post until Wednesday.

Also the days of playing the float with checks are quickly disappearing. Banks turn checks into digital images and can instantly debit your account from across the country.

[jodi]

Weird...I would have never guessed that they would get it so soon.

I love paying everything electronically now...no more guessing games about when the mail will get there, plus I can see the money in my account to verify before I make the instant payment.

[vsjhoc]

Ask your bank if you can get a feature added to your account called something like instant availability. I can deposit up to $2500 and it's available for withdrawal immediately. There is no cost. I also have overdraft protection so that it's impossible to bounce a check.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by sweeps

Banks turn checks into digital images and can instantly debit your account from across the country.

Good point. I wasn't event thinking of that. There are systems now that allow instant check clearing. We've looked into getting it for our office to avoid dealing with bounced checks. We would know immediately if a check was good.

[DayByDay]

That sure is fast weekend delivery and processing! Wow. Sorry you got dinged with a fee.

[Elgin526]

The most I'll do is a day. Say I mail a check on Thursday but I don't get paid until Friday. Even if the check makes it and clears on Friday (which for me is unusal, my bank isn't that fast!), I've already been paid so it won't matter. But I pay 90% of my bills online anyway, so it's not usually an issue.

Sorry you got dinged, I'd have thought you would have been okay too!

[cheapdoggy]

Well I never would have imagined that my payment would have beaten the deposit to the bank. I don't write checks when I don't have the money. The payment wasn't due for another week. I just wanted it off my desk and on it's merry way. I don't pay the AMEX electronically because we pay out of two accounts (one's a business account) and AMEX won't accept more than one payment per day (or some garbage like that) I did try it once and ended up making a late payment because my second payment was "locked out".
I'm just letting people know that it could happen to them because It happened to me

[cheapdoggy]

Well my AMEX now has a hold on it because the payment didn't go through. I had called Amex two days ago and they said that I was good to go. Obviously they were wrong. I called tonight and told Amex I would electronically transfer the funds immediately but they said basically don't bother because if they present the check after the electronic payment goes through it would bounce again (and set off more fees at the bank). I have to wait 7 days for this to clear up. All because I just wanted to mail the payment in a couple of days early.
I guess I just can't catch a break this time