Accepting a check as payment can be a common transaction for business owners. Whether it be part of accepting invoice payments or processing checks at the point of sale. There are many things to consider once a check enters the clearing process after the initial transaction is complete, most of all — “How long does it take to process a check?”

When answering the question of how long it takes to process a check, there are a few more questions to consider, such as: Are the deposited funds available right away? Do online deposits post faster? Is it still possible for checks to be returned from the bank after they’ve been accepted?

In this article, we’ll address these questions and simultaneously detail the ways you can speed up the deposit process.

Summary:

• Do checks process immediately?
• Can a check bounce after it clears?
• How long does it take to process a check online?
• Speed up the process with CrossCheck.

Do checks process immediately?

When business owners ask, “how long does it take to process a check?” What they’re really asking is, “when do I get my money?” Depending on the dollar value of the check deposit and the average value of the balance in the account, banks will make a portion of the funds available right away. Once the bank accepts a check, it goes through the clearing process. The clearing process typically takes 2-5 business days to complete, which can vary based on the day of the week, time of deposit and volume of checks.

A good way to ensure that your check deposit goes through the clearing process quickly is to deposit it during early business hours. The best way to speed up the process is by using check imaging devices combined with online processing software. Capturing checks digitally and processing them online will reduce the time it takes to process checks by hours and even days.

Can a check bounce after it clears?

You have a satisfied customer and you’ve received a check payment. You’ve deposited the check into your account and the bank has made funds available so, everything is finished … right?

Unfortunately, having funds available doesn’t mean that they are guaranteed. Even after a portion of the deposited funds have been made available to you, a check can still be returned from the bank unpaid.

However, there are solutions available to protect your business from unpaid checks. The best example being Check Guarantee Services. Check Guarantee is designed to protect merchants against bad or returned checks for reasons like closed accounts, insufficient funds and many more.

How long does it take to process a check online?

Processing a check online will save you time and money. Using online check payments removes the necessity of recording the information from a check by hand and eliminates trips to the bank. When using Electronic Check Processing, you enter an issued check into an imaging device connected to a PC or register. Once any additional information and acknowledgments have been made, the check is uploaded as an image-based ACH file for processing. The process is typically complete within 24-72 hours but is usually funded much faster.

Speed up the process with CrossCheck:

As discussed above, there are many details to consider when asking, “How long does it take to process a check?” When considering the best place to find payment solutions for check payments, CrossCheck has the best options available. CrossCheck’s Remote Deposit Capture service not only saves the time of manually processing a check, but merchants can accept more checks, receive transaction reports easier and guarantee check payments with Check Guarantee.

To learn more about how you can implement RDC at your business and enable yourself to close more sales, click on the image below to learn more about it.