Why do banks still work on the 5-day business week.....................

[CrownPrinceBandar]

when most of the rest of our society operates on a seven-day schedule?

The reason I ask this is that on Fri I deposited some $$ in my checking account. Unfortunately, I made the deposit at 2:06 PM, which will put it on Mondays business and won't be in my account until 12AM Tues. This seems silly to have someone loan you (the bank) money (deposit) and because of the time and day of the week, you disallow them access to it.

Why is that? In a world where bills can come due on a Sunday, where people work all days of the week, why do banks always get the weekend off? Hell, there's even folks manning a branch of my bank at the local super market on Sun, and you can get a banker on the phone on Sun. Why do banks traditionally, not handle money on the weekends? Is it tradition? Or is it that since they handle all the money, they can do whatever the hell they please? I don't know, seems damn anachronistic to me.

Please help this financial fool.

[Heyo]

1. Bank Atlantic, homie....

Open 7 days a week....

(I think they're only in Florida though, not sure)

They are also open later each evening....

Although, I never see in inside of the bank anymore.. do everything with my ATM card and Mobil Speedpass (I love that little thing)

Heyo

[gmoney]

2. Banks always want the upper hand...

They do all kinds of little tricks to maximize "float" in their favor... this way, they get to put your money to work for four or five days before giving you access to it.

Banks suck.

"Throw the moneychangers out of the temple,
I hate banks, it's just that simple,
Republicans one and all,
Their tallywackers are mighty small."
-Mojo Nixon

[CrownPrinceBandar]

3. What? No DU bankers out there?..............................

Stand and deliver me some reason. kicky.

[bratcatinok]

5. Former Mortgage Banker here

and I had to deal with the Fed more than I ever wanted to what with wiring funds to title companies and escrow offices.

[bratcatinok]

4. The Fed

It has to do with the Federal Reserve, their hours of operation and their rules.

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div6&view=text&node=12:2.0.1.1.10.1&idno=12

There's all sorts of rules and regulations listed at the link.

[HamdenRice]

6. The origins of bankers hours ...

Not only have banks traditionally worked only 5 days, but short days at that.

The origins of "bankers hours" was that in the pre computer days, it took almost as much time to "clear" transactions -- endorse and move paper, add up which banks owed what to whom and make the appropriate transfers, that they needed all the hours from 3 pm till next morning and weekends to process the business they did from 9 am to 3 pm. To this day they still do an amazing amount of paper shuffling with checks after hours, although computers have made the job a lot easier.

The amount of time it takes to "clear" a check is really just a result of their market power. Basically, you and your employer (or whoever wrote you the check) are lending the bank money for the 3 days it takes to clear, and believe me, in that time, they are lending your money out in "overnight" loans and deposits and in commercial paper and making a fortune.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

7. Thank you........

I had suspected this was the reason. One would think that with the advent of computers the banking industry would streamline and become more current. I'm sure their debt collectors have.

edit bankinging is not a word.