Difference between available balance and current balance on a checking account?

can someone explain to me what the difference is between a current balance and an available balance on a chekcing account and which one do I use? and why are they different?|||Current Balance is literally how much money you have in the bank...that's the easy one.





Available Balance is a little different.


If you've been using your ATM/Debit Card for various transactions... that money doesn't come out of your account IMMEDIATELY. The information of where the purchase was and how much the purchase was for is sent immediately.... if you have enough money in your balance to cover the purchuse, then the purchase is approved. Some of those purchases could take up to a couple days for the transaction to post and withdraw from your actual balance.





so... available balance is the difference of what your current balance is and any pending transactions that haven't posted yet... it's a safeguard to keep you from over-drafting your account.|||difference is current balance is what you have available even after all the pending transactions on your account, this is the correct amount that is available....available balance is what is in your account before all your pending transactions....they are different so you know how much is in your account before and after pending transactions....but as to why banks do this, i have no idea...|||current balance is the balance left over after the last business days processing was complete. there may, however, be "pending" items on your account, which havent completed processing, so that is why your "available" balance is different. the available balance on an account reflects the most recent info a bank has.





remember: the only true way to track your balance is with a check register. the balances the banks systems give are not always 100% accurate. they have no way to know what checks you may have written, that havent come in yet. there are other transactions that may not show up, and if you overdraw your balance, they will still give od/nsf fees.|||Some bank does not post transactions the same day, but they know that there are some incoming transactions that need to be posted at later time. The "Available Balance" is the Ledger Balance or Current Balance in an account at the time you accessed your account less any amounts that are held (e.g. based on funds availability), pledged (e.g. as security for a loan), or otherwise subject to restraint (e.g. due to legal process or levy). Available Balance may not reflect pending or outstanding transactions. So use CURRENT BALANCE.