What does present balance vs available balance mean?

i bank with chase and i deposited a check the other day and when it gave me a receipt it had present balance which was around 260 and available balance which was 143. it was a 300 dollar check so i'm just wondering what the hell any of that means. help is appreciated.|||If there was $0.00 in the account the present balance should read $300. So not sure on that.





But Available is the amount of money the bank will let you use of your money until they clear the check as it has to transfer from another account. It may take a day or two.|||Banks have two balances on every account. The ledger balance (present balance) and the available balance. The present balance is a simple accounting of the deposits and withdrawals made.





The available balance reflects the float on a check deposit. When you hand a teller a check the bank's system looks at the transit router of the check to see how fast it can be collected. Local checks usually get one day float. Out of area checks get 2 to 3 business days float. If your account is new or has had credit issues, the bank may add up to 10 days float (or hold) to make sure the check you deposit is collected.





Something does not sound right about the numbers you list. If you made a deposit of $300 and the present balance showed $260 AFTER the deposit your account was in overdraft. Banks often grant immediate availability of $100 on a deposit as a courtesy to customers. Some also grant immediate availability on US government checks and payroll checks.