The federal laws that govern how banks process checks have been in place since 1987. The Expedited Funds Availability Act (EFAA) is very detailed and addresses every type of deposit transaction, including international transfer of funds. For the average citizen, however, three stipulations are particularly relevant to everyday banking.

The EFAA requires that:

• Your deposited funds be made available to you within a certain time frame.

• Interest be paid on your interest-bearing checking and savings accounts no later than 24 hours after your bank receives the interest

• You are provided full disclosure regarding the bank’s availability of funds policy.

The availability of your deposited funds varies according to the deposit type. Low risk deposits, such as Treasury and cashier checks, cash deposits and wire transfers should be made available for your use within 24 hours, although many banks do make these funds available immediately. Other deposits you make, such as out of state checks, should be available to you between the second and the fifth business day after your deposit.

The law enacted in 1987, of course, was written before today’s internet. To accommodate banking in the digital age, congress enacted the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21 Act) in 2003. With this law in place, digital versions of paper checks are allowed. You can legally capture images of your checks either by scanning them with your computer or mobile phone, and then deposit them electronically. Paper checks no longer go through the traditional manual processing steps; this allows consumers to receive monthly bank statements electronically and eliminates the need to physically returned cancelled checks via regular mail. Electronic processing also means it is no longer necessary to actually drive to a bank to make a deposit.

The stipulations of both the EFAA and the Check 21 Act generally affect the majority of banking account holders. As with every law, there are exceptions to the rule. Some monetary transactions, such as perpetually overdrawn accounts, are not subject to the same requirements. Banks are allowed some leeway in these and other circumstances so they can protect their own interests. These exceptions typically do not involve the average consumer instead they are designed to address emergency situations. However, in every case banks are still required by law to inform their customers about the rules governing the availability of their funds, no matter what the conditions.

To ensure all these standards and requirements are followed, the checks you buy should meet their standard requirements as well by following the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) requirements so your checks can be processed efficiently. That is why companies such as Bradford Exchange Checks guarantees that every check you purchase from them will always meet both the ANSI and all other banking standards.