why does it take 4 working days to make electronic bank transfer?

Answer 1

It doesn't they just like to keep your money for longer than necessary, they get to keep more money for lending that way and make their millions and millions of profits. It would be perfectly possible to perform every transaction within 24 hours, e.g if you set up a direct debit, the bank only hear about it the day they are told and the money is straight out to the other account but if you pay via a bank transfer to the same account it will take three days.

There was talk about introducing new laws in the future so that banks have to perform transactions quicker so hopefully that will come into effect one day.

Answer 2

A bank to bank transfer depending on the bank, the transaction, shoud take only a day or even the same day. If you're using Ebay, and transferring, then yes it takes 4 days, but it's because 3 of those days they're checking your acct to make sure nothing fraudulent is happening...

I hate paypal.

Answer 3

I recently read in today's papers about contactless bank cards. I just do not trust the idea at all, Lily. Apparently, people in M &S and no doubt other stores were simply standing within the range of the contactless bank readers and finding that the 'readers' were scanning their details from cards that were in their purses/wallets. It was not until they received their monthly statements that they found that they were being charged for purchases that they had not made ! My old fashioned idea of sticking to money seems to be the ideal way of avoiding this, though I fear actual cash will become a thing of the past in the not too distant future. Yes, I too am a sceptic, it will not be long before criminals have the means to read these contactless cards, so banks are just making a rod for all of our backs.

Answer 4

Several days were needed once to clear cheques physically, and the practice has endured. However, in these days of electronics I cannot believe that a system is not possible so that cheques and other transactions can be cleared overnight. Any messages, like "refer to drawer" on bounced cheques could be made known the same as "the cheque has cleared"!

Answer 5

Because the longer it takes the more money the bank makes out of your cash. Its all to do with charges. They try to get as much money out of the normal everyday person as they can!

Answer 6

so that the banks can save some intrest on customers account and show as profits/earning