USAA This bank will hold your deposits for a week!! San Antonio, Texas

I have deposited a Payroll check of a small amount that is from Chase bank. They have the all of the funds on hold for 12 days. They say it just is what it is. I deposited the check directly through them and did not mail it. You may work for them, but you do not have all of the information apparently.

A consumer deposits a check into a new account at a location far away from the Texas location of the bank and is somehow surprised that funds are not available immediately? This is beyond absurd.

Still, there are alternatives. If you are credit qualified with USAA, you can avoid holds on your deposits even though the account may be new. You can also use their Deposit@Home service which allows you to upload a scan of the check and have immediate funds availability.

Short of that, you are just going to have to wait until your account matures and USAA has more experience with you. That you could even think otherwise is amazing.

Most banks will allow you access to all your money if you use direct deposit. You and your wife should try that option if available.

The major banks will charge you less to maintain your checking account if you use direct deposit as well as if you open other accounts as well. Check the fine print with funds availability when depositing checks though.

Last year, USAA bank got taken for millons of dollars by a ring of 20 or 30 crooks here in San Antonio who had opened accounts at USAA and other local banks, were opening accounts, then depositing checks drawn on those accounts into USAA, then withdrawing money, then the checks would then "bounce". They were floating checks all over the place between many institutions. What I couldn't understand was how in the hell scumbags like that were allowed to open accounts AT USAA. The local police arrested a bunch of them. Several of them had opened accounts under different name using different IDs. Someone wasn't paying attention. After getting burned, I guess they're being more careful with new accounts.

You seem very well steeped in banking (even though all you essentially have done is echo what two others left as replies before you...redundant much?).. So I imagine you would never fall sucker to a lousy bank and are an expert on reg cc.

You stated in your reply and I quote..".Why would a bank give you the money for the check before they even know that the check is good? "

This is a very good question. Perhaps all the victims of the Nigerian 419 scams would also like an answer to this question. Do you, or anyone have an answer?

Oh..I know the answer..reg CC "forces" them to. It seems to "force" the bank to give customers money before they even know the check is good. All the victim knows is the bank "CLEARED" the check. What does "clear" mean? I do not think the victims (or the banks for that matter) actually know.

Granted reg cc gives the bank the right to delay check clearing deposits for days and days for new accounts..understood, the bank wants to protect themselves. I just wonder if there is ever a time when the bank wants to protect the customer without being "forced" to? Sorry to state my opinion here..but the banks are a bunch of scamming scheming scumbags..for the most part. As this poster states in the end of the report, beware.

This is not at all uncommon, and there are several reasons for it. First of all, its a new account, so most banks will hold any check for at least 2-3 days as a minimum, and some up to 7-10 days.

If you have a balance in your account lower than the check amount they will usually hold it until it clears.Why would a bank give you the money for the check before they even know that the check is good? Especially with you being a new customer.

There is a lot of check fraud out there, and banks are being careful.Once your account is "seasoned" and you have a sufficient average daily balance, you will see less of a hold time.

Most banks and credit unions have additional hold periods for new account holders. They will watch your account more closely during the first 90 days because you are a new customer.

Regulation CC gives the maximum period that banks and CU's can hold your deposits. Non local checks can be held until the morning of the 5th business day after the deposit. Find out from USAA what their hold periods are for new account holders so you aren't caught by surprise. Once you have had an account with them and are no longer a new account holder, your hold times should be reduced substantially.

Especially for new accounts. You'll see this at most if not all financial institutions. Criteria for placing deposited checks on hold include: how long account has been open; how many if any overdrafts in last 6 months; type of check (government, business, personnel); if check is considered local or out of state; amount of check and if you've deposited similar checks before. It's an inconveniance to not be able to access your money but not a rip off.