Funds Availability Policy
This policy statement applies to transaction accounts. Transaction accounts, in general, are accounts that permit an unlimited number of payments to third persons and an unlimited number of telephone and preauthorized transfers to other accounts with us. Checking accounts are the most common transaction accounts. Please feel free to ask whether any of your other accounts might also be under this policy.
Our policy is to make funds from cash and most check deposits available on the first business day after the deposit is received. Electronic direct deposits will be available on the day the deposit is received. Once the funds are available, they can be withdrawn in cash and the funds will be used to pay checks that have been written. Please remember that even after funds are available and have been withdrawn, you are still responsible for checks that have been deposited and returned to us unpaid and for any other problems involving the deposit.
For determining the availability of your deposits, every day is a business day, except Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays. If a deposit is made before 4:00 p.m. on a business day that the bank is open, that day will be considered to be the day of the deposit. However, if a deposit is made after 4:00 p.m. or on a day the bank is not open, the deposit will be considered to be on the next business day. This availability policy only applies to funds deposited at Westfield Bank. Please inquire for information about the availability of funds deposited at other locations.
The same rules apply to any ATM (Automated Teller Machine) transactions. The cutoff time for the ATMs is 3 p.m. on a business day that the bank is open. Any transactions after that time will be considered to be on the next business day.
Longer Delays May Apply.
In some cases, we will not make all of the funds that you deposit by check available to you on the first business day after the day of your deposit. Depending on the type of check that you deposit, funds may not be available until the fifth business day after the day of your deposit. The first $100 of your deposits, however, may be available on the first business day.
If we are not going to make all of the funds from your deposit available on the first business day, we will notify you at the time you make your deposit. We will also tell you when the funds will be available. If your deposit is not made directly to one of our employees, or if we decide to take this action after you have left the premises, we will mail you the notice by the day after we receive your deposit.
If we cash a check for you that is drawn on another bank, we may withhold the availability of a corresponding amount of funds that are already in your account. Those funds will be available at the time funds from the check we cashed would have been available if you had deposited it.
If you will need the funds from a deposit right away, you should ask us when the funds will be available. In addition, funds you deposit by check may be delayed for a longer period of time under the following circumstances:
- We believe a check you deposit will not be paid.
- You deposit checks totaling more than $5,000 on any one day.
- You redeposit a check that has been returned unpaid.
- You have overdrawn your account repeatedly in the last six months.
- There is an emergency, such as failure of computer or communications equipment.
We will notify you if we delay your ability to withdraw funds for any of these reasons, and we will tell you when the funds will be available. They will be available no later than the 9th business day after the day of your deposit.
Special Rules for New Accounts.
If you are a new customer, the following special rules will apply during the first 30 days your account is open.
- Funds from electronic direct deposits to your account will be available on the day we receive the deposit.
- Funds from deposits of cash, wire transfers, and the first $5,000 of a day's total deposits of cashier's, certified, teller's, traveler's, and federal, state, and local government checks will be available on the first business day after the day of your deposit if the deposit meeting certain conditions. For example, the checks must be payable to you. The excess over $5,000 will be available on the ninth business day after the day of your deposit. If your deposit of these checks (other than a U.S. Treasury check) is not made in person to one of our employees, the first $5,000 will not be available until the second business day after the day of your deposit.
- Funds from all other check deposits will be available on the eleventh business day after the day of your deposit.
Back to Top
SUBSTITUTE CHECKS AND YOUR RIGHTS IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CHECKING ACCOUNT
What Is a Substitute Check?
To make check processing faster, federal law permits banks to replace original checks with “substitute checks.” These checks are similar in size to original checks with a slightly reduced image of the front and back of the original check. The front of a substitute check states: “This is a legal copy of your check. You can use it the same way you would use the original check.” You may use a substitute check as proof of payment just like the original check.
Some or all of the checks that you receive back from us may be substitute checks. This notice describes rights you have when you receive substitute checks from us. The rights in this notice do not apply to original checks or to electronic debits to your account. However, you have rights under other law with respect to those transactions.
What Are My Rights Regarding Substitute Checks?
In certain cases, federal law provides a special procedure that allows you to request a refund for losses you suffer if a substitute check is posted to your account (for example, if you think that we withdrew the wrong amount from your account or that we withdrew money from your account more than once for the same check.) The losses you may attempt to recover under this procedure may include the amount that was withdrawn from your account and fees that were charged as a result of the withdrawal (for example, bounced check fees.)
The amount of your refund under this procedure is limited to the amount of your loss or the amount of the substitute check, whichever is less. You are also entitled to interest on the amount of your refund if your account is an interest-bearing account. If your loss exceeds the amount of the substitute check, you may be able to recover additional amounts under other law.
If you use this procedure, you may receive up to $2,500 of your refund (plus interest if your account earns interest) within 10 business days after we received your claim and the remainder of your refund (plus interest if your account earns interest) not later than 45 calendar days after we received your claim.
We may reverse the refund (including interest on the refund) if we later are able to demonstrate that the substitute check was correctly posted to your account.
How Do I Make a Claim For a Refund?
If you believe you have suffered a loss relating to a substitute check that you received and that was posted to your account, please contact us at the address shown in this notice.
You must contact us within 40 calendar days of the date that we mailed (or otherwise delivered by a means to which you agreed) the substitute check in question or the account statement showing that the substitute check was posted to your account, whichever is later. We will extend this time period if you were not able to make a timely claim because of extraordinary circumstances.
Your claim must include:
- A description of why you have suffered a loss (for example, you think the amount withdrawn was incorrect);
- An estimate of the amount of your loss;
- An explanation of why the substitute check you received is insufficient to confirm that you suffered a loss; and
- A copy of the substitute check and the following information to help us identify the substitute check: check number, name of the person to whom you wrote the check, and the amount of the check.
Back to Top
