Deposit hold policy

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To protect you from fraud, Coast Capital Savings may place “holds” on ATM and non-cash branch deposits until the funds clear.

If your deposit is held, you will not be able to access that money. You will not be able to withdraw the money, and we will not pay any of your cheques or pre-authorized debits from those funds until the end of the hold period.

Holds are not placed on cash deposits made in the branch or on direct deposits (like an automatic payroll).

Holds protect you from fraud and liability

Holds protect you and Coast Capital Savings from the risk of fraud by criminals who steal someone’s identity and make fraudulent deposits in their name. They then try to access the funds before the crime is discovered. Our deposit hold policy helps prevent this.

Holds also protect customers who make non-cash deposits and withdraw the money before the cheque has cleared. Should a problem occur during the clearing process, such as non-sufficient funds, our customer could be placed in the unfortunate position of assuming the liability for this transaction, in other words, paying the money back.

Holds may be longer than five days

The amount held and length of the hold will vary depending on the individual customer and the item being deposited. We will take into account factors such as the length of time you have dealt with Coast Capital Savings and the amount of the funds already in our account. The decision will also vary depending on the institution on which the cheque has been drawn, as well as the amount and the issuer of the cheque. For example, cheques deposited from foreign banking institutions will have longer holds than cheques drawn on Canadian financial institutions as foreign transactions take longer to verify.

You are responsible for items deposited in your account

Although funds will be available after the hold period, you should be aware that cheques can be returned for several reasons and the time frames for this may vary. The lifting of the hold does not guarantee that an item will not be returned.

This is why it is important to take precautions when accepting cheques, especially for large amounts from someone you do not know. You are financially responsible for items deposited or cashed before and after the hold period.

What questions should I ask myself when accepting cheques/items for deposit to my account?

Ask yourself the following:

How well do I know the person who has signed this cheque?
Has a cheque from this person ever been returned?
Does this transaction, or the person you are dealing with, make you feel uncomfortable?

Where can I find out more information or discuss how your hold policy can be customized to my needs?

Most customers will experience little or no inconvenience for the added protection; however we may be able to tailor our deposit hold policy to meet your needs. If you would like to discuss further please contact us.