To make banking easier. It’s not just a concept. It’s an everyday focus at Regions Bank.
One of the latest examples – time order posting.
Bottom line, it’s the order that purchases, payments, and other withdrawal activities post to bank accounts during a bank’s nightly “processing.” Moving to a time order posting process gives people an easier way of keeping up with their accounts and the money that is available to cover purchases, build savings, and more.
Here’s how it works:
- First, it’s important to point out what doesn’t change. Regions Bank continues to apply each day’s available credits and deposits to your account first – before debits, payments, and withdrawals are processed each night. That way, you have the highest available balance to cover the day’s payments or withdrawals. This can help customers encounter fewer fees, such as overdraft fees.
- What’s new is how we process debits, payments, transfers, and withdrawals. These used to be processed based on the type of transaction that was made. That is, wire payments would process first, followed by checks, debit card transactions, and so on. But now, with time order posting, technology helps us move to more of a real-time process. For example, if you make a debit card transaction at 9:30 a.m., a wire transfer at noon, and then a check you wrote was presented to the bank for payment at 4:30 p.m., these items would generally process in the order in which the bank receives them.
- Now, there are some instances in which transactions have the same timestamp. For example, you may have a few online payments scheduled for the same time. So which one posts first? In those instances, the payment for the lowest dollar amount posts first, followed by transactions for higher amounts. This helps reduce overdraft fees by posting the lowest dollar amounts first.
- What about checks that may be presented to the bank for payment at the same time? In those instances, we post them based on the check numbers. The lowest number posts first, followed by the next-lowest number, and so on.
- What if a transaction has no timestamp at all? In those cases, the transaction would receive what’s called an “end-of-day” timestamp and would post accordingly. Next, bank fees, if any at all, would post.
With all that said: What’s the cutoff time for deposits and credits to be made? It’s close-of-business for deposits made in branches and 8 p.m. Central Time for deposits made electronically. As long as the bank receives your deposit or transfer before the applicable cutoff time, the deposit will be included in the next nightly posting. Provided the funding is available (e.g. no hold was applied to a deposited check, the account is not subject to garnishment, etc.) that money can be used to cover purchases and payments.
Now – is this all we’re doing? No, not at all. Banking is always evolving to meet the needs of today’s consumers, and this is simply one of our latest steps.
Regions also is improving CheckCard transaction processing. As part of our new posting process, Regions applies what are called “authorization holds” for pending CheckCard transactions in the order the bank receives them, along with other debit and withdrawal transactions. This helps people have a more updated understanding of money that’s available for other purchases or for building savings. In addition, if you have sufficient available funds at the time we authorize a CheckCard transaction, you won’t be charged an overdraft fee if that transaction overdraws your account later when it settles.
We are always looking for ways to evolve and enhance the tools we offer to help people manage their money, build their savings, and reach their financial goals.
Scott Peters, head of Consumer Banking for Regions
“Our focus on making banking easier never stops,” said Scott Peters, head of Consumer Banking for Regions. “We are always looking for ways to evolve and enhance the tools we offer to help people manage their money, build their savings, and reach their financial goals. These changes, combined with free financial-management tools on Regions.com, and our skilled bankers who provide sound financial guidance, are designed to empower customers to make well-informed decisions about budgeting, spending, and saving.”
Over the past year, Regions has made other changes, including reducing the number of overdraft and “non-sufficient funds” fees customers can be charged per day. The bank also changed how checks are processed on personal accounts to show pending transactions sooner, and Regions improved account alerts to make it easier for customers to be aware of transactions and balances. Customers can set customized alerts, such as deposit and withdrawal alerts, to keep up with their transactions and balances.
Regions also enhanced its Online and Mobile Banking, making information easier to understand by using simple language to describe pending transactions and providing expiration dates to indicate when funds on hold from a deposited check will be available. Customers now see a Projected Available Balance as well, which is their estimated available balance after the next nightly posting.
Visit Regions.com/checkingupdate to find out more about how Regions is providing tools and information customers need to conduct their banking business in the ways that work best for them.