Liquidity is a meaningful concept for many consumers who want access to funds quickly and in most developed countries, financial intitutions are capable of “speaking” to one another in real-time. In Canada, this means that regulators have been able to promulgate new rules requiring banks cash checks and immediately provide at least some of the funds to consumers.
From an ATM Marketplace article:
If a check is for $100 or less, the financial institution must provide the full amount. If a check for $100 or less is deposited via ATM, funds must be made available the next business day.
A rule such as this one might be meaningful in the United States, where millions of consumers don’t maintain a checking account and often use check cashers. Canadian consumers do not have this issue as nearly everyone is banked.
At the same this check-cashing rule went into effect, Canadian regulators also now require financial institutions to get permission from consumers before they commit them to optional, fee-based programs to accounts such as overdraft protection or insurance.
Click here to read more from ATM Marketplace.