Where Banks are concerned, what exactly is an "Available Balance"?

Do all of a Banks customers get an "available balance"?|||yes its the money you put in checks and they have cleared the bank|||Since banking transactions can often take several days to clear, you will see two separate numbers when you look at your bank account, 1) Posted Balance: this is the amount of money in your account when reconciled with all cleared charges and transactions (basically, checks and check card transactions have cleared) and 2) Available Balance: When you use your check card/credit card, the merchant puts a "provisional" hold on the funds in your account, however, the accounts are not settled for a day or two depending on when the transaction was made, so, the bank calculates you available balance based on your posted balance, minus any provision hold or uncleared bank card transactions. This will show you that the amount of money you actually have to spend is less than the number that has "posted" to your account. This number however cannot take into account any outstanding check that have yet to be cashed/deposited by the payee. See the below calculation for a brief analysis.



You deposit $100 in your bank account, and the deposit clears.



Posted Balance = $100

Available Balance = $100



This morning you spent $20 on breakfast for you and a friend, on your bank card, but the charge has not yet cleared the bank.



Posted Balance = $100

Available Balance = $80



Yesterday you wrote a check for $30 to buy new shoes and the check has not cleared the bank yet.



Posted Balance = $100

Available Balance = $80

Actual Balance = $50



This is why it's important to keep a register "log" of all of your financial transactions. Otherwise you could find yourself over drafting quite easily.|||If your account has a minimum balance that you can't withdraw without closing the account or paying a penalty, your available balance is your current balance minus the minimum.|||I ignore available balance.


I go by Cleared or Collected.


I consider available balance a trick by banks to get you to overdraft...|||should be the amount you can actually spend even if it isn't "posted" to your acct yet|||"Available Balance" is what you have available in your account to work with.