For banks, a business day is any Monday through Friday that is not a federal holiday. That five-day cycle, set by federal Regulation CC, is what governs when a deposit clears, when an electronic transfer settles, and when the money you put in becomes money you can spend. Weekends and federal holidays do not count, no matter whether your branch happens to unlock its doors on a Saturday or your mobile app accepts a deposit at midnight.
Business Day vs. Banking Day
Regulation CC actually defines two related terms, and mixing them up is the fastest way to misjudge when your money will be available.1eCFR. 12 CFR 229.2 – Definitions
A business day is the calendar day itself: any weekday that is not one of the eleven federal holidays observed by the Federal Reserve. Saturdays, Sundays, and those holidays are excluded across the entire banking system.
A banking day is narrower. It refers to the portion of a business day during which a specific bank office is open to the public and performing its core functions. If a branch opens at 9:00 a.m. and closes at 4:00 p.m., its banking day covers those hours. A deposit made on a business day after the branch’s cut-off, or on a day the branch happens to be closed, rolls to the next banking day for that particular bank.
Which Days the Federal Reserve Treats as Closed
Eleven federal holidays take a weekday off the business-day calendar each year. On those days the settlement systems that move money between banks are shut, so check clearing and domestic wires halt regardless of whether your own bank’s app is working.2Federal Reserve Financial Services. Federal Reserve System Holiday Schedule
- New Year’s Day (January 1)
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day (third Monday in January)
- Washington’s Birthday (third Monday in February)
- Memorial Day (last Monday in May)
- Juneteenth National Independence Day (June 19)
- Independence Day (July 4)
- Labor Day (first Monday in September)
- Columbus Day (second Monday in October)
- Veterans Day (November 11)
- Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November)
- Christmas Day (December 25)
Seven of these always fall on a weekday. The other four (New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day, and Christmas) sit on fixed calendar dates, so they can land on a weekend. When one of those falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is treated as a non-business day. When one falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday stays a normal business day and the holiday simply passes on the already-closed weekend.2Federal Reserve Financial Services. Federal Reserve System Holiday Schedule
Daily Cut-Off Times
A business day is not a full 24 hours where deposits are concerned. Every bank sets cut-off times, and any deposit made after that hour is treated as if it arrived the next banking day. Federal rules cap how early those deadlines can be set:
- For in-person deposits at a branch, the cut-off cannot be earlier than 2:00 p.m. local time.
- For ATM and other off-site deposits, the cut-off cannot be earlier than 12:00 noon.
Banks are free to set later deadlines. Some run cut-offs at 5:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m., or later for mobile deposits, and they may set different cut-offs for different deposit methods or different branches.3eCFR. 12 CFR 229.19 – Miscellaneous Whatever the specific time, anything after it goes into a queue and starts processing the next banking day.
Banks must disclose their cut-offs and the business days they follow in their written availability disclosures. If you cannot find yours in your account agreement, you can request it directly.4eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC)
How Business Days Control Funds Availability
Federal hold limits are counted in business days, not calendar days. That is the practical reason the distinction matters at all.
Next-Business-Day Availability
Several deposit types must be available by the start of the next business day after the banking day you deposit them:
- Cash deposited in person with a teller
- Electronic payments, including direct deposits and incoming wire transfers
- U.S. Treasury checks deposited by the payee
- U.S. Postal Service money orders deposited in person by the payee
- Cashier’s, certified, and teller’s checks deposited in person by the payee with any required deposit slip
- State and local government checks deposited in person by the payee at a bank in the same state
- On-us checks (checks drawn on the same bank where you are depositing)
For any other check, the bank still has to make at least the first $275 available the next business day.5eCFR. 12 CFR 229.10 – Next-Day Availability That $275 figure took effect July 1, 2025, and stays in place through 2030.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) Threshold Adjustments
Longer Holds
The remainder of a standard check deposit generally must be available by the second business day after the banking day of deposit. A deposit made at an ATM your bank does not own can be held until the fifth business day. Cash put into an ATM rather than handed to a teller may also take until the second business day.5eCFR. 12 CFR 229.10 – Next-Day Availability
Banks may extend these holds in specific situations: deposits above a threshold amount, accounts open fewer than 30 days, and cases where the bank has reason to doubt the check will clear. Under an extended hold, a standard deposit can run up to seven business days, and a new-account deposit up to nine business days.7Federal Reserve. A Guide to Regulation CC Compliance
ACH, Direct Deposit, and Wires
The ACH network, which carries direct deposits, payroll, and most online bill payments, only settles on business days. On weekends and federal holidays the Federal Reserve’s settlement system is closed, so no ACH payment finalizes during that time.8Nacha. The ABCs of ACH
A paycheck scheduled to hit on a Saturday will not actually settle until Monday, or Tuesday if Monday is a federal holiday. The standard industry practice is to move weekend and holiday paydays to the prior Friday, and to push bill-payment debits to the next business day. In both cases the shift favors the employee or consumer.8Nacha. The ABCs of ACH
Domestic wire transfers sent through Fedwire follow the same weekday-only calendar. Wires initiated on a weekend, on a federal holiday, or after Friday’s cut-off do not settle until the next business day.9Federal Reserve Financial Services. Wholesale Services Operating Hours
Real-Time Payments Are the Exception
Two newer networks operate outside the business-day calendar entirely. The FedNow Service, launched by the Federal Reserve in 2023, settles instant payments 24 hours a day on every day of the year, including weekends and Federal Reserve holidays.10Federal Reserve Services. FedNow Service Operating Hours The RTP network, run by The Clearing House since 2017, does the same. Whether you can use either depends on your bank’s participation. For anything routed through ACH or Fedwire, the business-day rules above still apply.
Interest and the Business Day
If you deposit money into an interest-bearing account, the bank must begin accruing interest no later than the business day it receives credit for the funds, which is set by the availability schedule of its Federal Reserve Bank or correspondent bank.11eCFR. 12 CFR 229.14 – Payment of Interest A check deposited late Friday afternoon may not start earning interest until Monday or Tuesday. If a deposited check is later returned unpaid, the bank does not owe you interest on those funds.
The practical rule is simple. Count forward in weekdays, skip federal holidays, watch the cut-off time, and check whether your specific bank supports FedNow or RTP if you need the money to move on a Saturday.