Legal Definitions - banking day

A banking day refers to the specific hours on a day when a bank is fully open and actively performing the majority of its core financial services. This includes the times when departments responsible for tasks like processing loans, managing accounts, and handling complex transactions are operational. It specifically excludes days when banks are closed for holidays, as well as services available outside these core hours, such as 24-hour automated teller machines (ATMs) or night deposit facilities.

• Example 1: Check Deposit Cutoff Time

  Imagine you deposit a check into your account at 4:30 PM on a Tuesday. Your bank's stated cutoff time for processing deposits on the current day is 4:00 PM. Even though the lobby might remain open until 5:00 PM for basic transactions, the bank's internal processing departments have already closed for the day. Therefore, your deposit will be considered received and processed on the next banking day, Wednesday, because the full range of banking functions necessary for processing checks had ceased for the day.

• Example 2: Loan Application on a Federal Holiday

  A small business owner submits a critical loan application online on Presidents' Day, which is a federal holiday. While the bank's website is accessible and allows the submission, the loan officers and underwriting department are not working. Even if the bank's digital systems acknowledge receipt, the application will not begin its actual review process until the next business day when the bank's loan department is fully operational. Presidents' Day is not considered a banking day because the bank is not performing substantially all its banking functions.

• Example 3: Urgent Wire Transfer Deadline

  A client needs to send an urgent international wire transfer. They visit their bank branch at 3:00 PM on a Friday. The bank's policy states that international wire transfers must be initiated by 2:00 PM to be processed on the same banking day. Although the bank is still open for other services, the specific department handling international wires has already closed its processing for the day. Consequently, the wire transfer will be queued for processing on the following Monday (assuming no holidays), as Friday afternoon after 2:00 PM is no longer considered part of the banking day for that specific, substantial function.