Federal law does not regulate the order that banks post checks to your account, but some state laws might. Because checks come to the banks in bundles, banks cannot determine the exact order of the checks received or which checks are the most important to process. Banks' computer systems process checks that come in each day - these checks may be processed randomly, from the largest to the smallest check amount, or based on some other method.
Banks that post the largest checks before the smallest checks assume that larger checks may be the most important payments being made by the customer, for items such as mortgage or rent payments or auto loans. You may want to check with your bank to ask about the method they use for posting checks.
There is no federal law preventing banks from increasing fees or adding new fees to your loan or deposit account. However, federal law usually requires a bank to warn you before it begins charging you a new fee. Notices about fee charges often come with your monthly statement, but they may also be printed on your monthly statement, be sent to you in a separate letter, or be included with other information in a pamphlet or brochure. Bottom line: read the information a bank sends you carefully.
There is no federal law that requires a bank to cash a check, even a government check. Some banks only cash checks if you have an account at the bank. Other banks will cash checks for non-customers, but they may charge a fee. You should shop around for the bank that best meets your needs.
Banks can place "holds" on checks for a variety of reasons. Most commonly, banks hold a check because the collection of the money may be in doubt or the check looks suspicious for some reason. Holds may also be placed when a large dollar amount (more than $5,000) is deposited or when funds are deposited into a new customer's account.
A federal law, the Expedited Funds Availability Act, contains rules that allow banks to delay or
"hold" funds deposited by check. You may want to review the account agreement you received when you opened your account for details about your bank's funds availability policies and procedures.
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a debt collector may not contact you at work if the collector knows that your employer disapproves of such contacts. This Act helps protect consumers from unfair, abusive, or deceptive debt collection practices. But the Act only covers debt collectors who are collecting money that is not owed to them directly, like collection agencies. Banks that collect their own debts are not covered under the Act. See the FTC website and Federal Reserve System website for more information.
Generally, there is no federal law that requires your bank to return your original check. Many banks destroy original paper checks after putting them into electronic form, often to save the expenses of storing or mailing paper checks. Increasingly, check processors make electronic images of your checks and destroy the paper checks that you wrote. A law called Check 21 gives you the same legal protections whether your bank sends your original paper checks back to you or sends you images of your paper check. Please refer to the Board of Governor's pamphlet "What You Should Know About Your Checks" for more information.
The interest rate established by the Federal Reserve is actually a target rate for the interest rate at which depository institutions lend balances to other depository institutions overnight. This so-called "federal funds" rate is important for monetary policy, but does not directly affect the interest rate established for your home mortgage. The interest rate on your mortgage is established by your lender according to the terms and conditions of your loan contract or promissory note. If you have a "fixed-rate" home loan, your interest rate is locked in for the duration of the loan. If you have a "variable-" or "adjustable-" rate loan, your interest rate could change throughout the life of the loan depending on the loan terms. Your loan contract or note with the bank will tell you how your bank determines changes to your interest rate.
