For banks, a business day is any Monday through Friday that is not a federal holiday observed by the Federal Reserve. That five-day cycle, set by Regulation CC, is what banks use to count deposit holds, settle electronic transfers, and decide when your funds are available for withdrawal. Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal Reserve holidays never count, no matter whether a branch or app happens to be open.
Business Day Versus Banking Day
Regulation CC draws a line between two terms that sound alike. A business day is the calendar concept above: Monday through Friday, excluding the eleven federal holidays. A banking day is narrower. It is the portion of a business day during which a particular bank office is open to the public for its core functions.1eCFR. 12 CFR 229.2 – Definitions
The practical effect: a deposit made on a business day can still miss that day if the branch is already closed or the cut-off has passed. It rolls to the next banking day.
The Eleven Federal Reserve Holidays
On these days the settlement systems that move money between banks shut down:
- 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 land on a weekday. The other four — New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day, and Christmas — have fixed dates and can hit a weekend. When one of the four falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is treated as a non-business day.1eCFR. 12 CFR 229.2 – Definitions When one falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday stays a normal business day; the Federal Reserve is open, and the holiday simply passes on the already-closed Saturday.2Federal Reserve Financial Services. Federal Reserve System Holiday Schedule
During these closures, paper check clearing and domestic wire transfers halt until the next business day. Your bank’s app may still work, but the infrastructure moving funds between institutions is offline.
Daily Cut-Off Times
A business day does not last a full 24 hours for deposit purposes. Banks set cut-off times, and anything received afterward is treated as arriving the next banking day. Federal rules set the earliest a cut-off can be:
- In-person deposits at a branch: no earlier than 2:00 p.m. local time.
- ATM and off-site deposits: no earlier than 12:00 noon.
Banks may set later deadlines and can set different ones for different deposit methods or locations.3eCFR. 12 CFR 229.19 – Miscellaneous Whatever the cut-off, a late deposit begins processing the following banking day. Banks are required to disclose their cut-off hours and the business days they use in their written availability disclosures, and you can request the information directly if it is not in your account agreement.4eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC)
How Business Days Affect Funds Availability
When you deposit money, federal law caps hold periods in business days, not calendar days. The deposit type sets how quickly the bank has to let you withdraw.
Next-Business-Day Availability
These deposits must be available by the start of the next business day after the banking day of deposit:
- Cash deposited in person at a teller window
- Electronic payments, including direct deposits and incoming wires
- 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, meaning checks drawn on the same bank where you’re depositing
For any other check, the bank must still make at least the first $275 available by the next business day.5eCFR. 12 CFR 229.10 – Next-Day Availability That $275 threshold took effect July 1, 2025, and runs through 2030.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) Threshold Adjustments
Longer Holds
The remaining balance of a standard check deposit generally must be available by the second business day after the banking day of deposit. Deposits made at an ATM your bank does not own may be held until the fifth business day.7Federal Reserve. A Guide to Regulation CC Compliance
Banks can extend holds in specific situations, such as deposits over a threshold amount, accounts open fewer than 30 days, or reasonable doubt about collectibility. Under extended holds, a standard check can be held up to seven business days, and a new-account deposit up to nine business days.7Federal Reserve. A Guide to Regulation CC Compliance Cash deposited at an ATM rather than to a teller may also take until the second business day to become available.5eCFR. 12 CFR 229.10 – Next-Day Availability
ACH Transfers and Direct Deposits
The Automated Clearing House 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 nothing finalizes.8Nacha. The ABCs of ACH
A paycheck scheduled for a Saturday deposit will not settle until Monday, or Tuesday if Monday is a federal holiday. The standard industry practice is to move paydays that fall on a weekend or holiday to the prior Friday, while bill-payment debits push to the next business day, in each case favoring the employee or consumer.8Nacha. The ABCs of ACH Same-day ACH exists, but it still depends on Federal Reserve settlement windows and does not run on weekends or holidays.9Nacha. Increasing the Same Day ACH Dollar Limit
Wire Transfers
Domestic wires sent through the Fedwire Funds Service run only on days the Federal Reserve is open: Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays. The current Fedwire business day ends at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.10Federal Reserve Financial Services. Wholesale Services Operating Hours Wires initiated after that cutoff or on a weekend do not settle until the next business day.
The Federal Reserve announced in late 2025 that it plans to expand Fedwire to 22 hours per day, six days per week (Sunday through Friday), including weekday holidays.11Federal Register. Federal Reserve Action To Expand Fedwire Funds Service and National Settlement Service Operating Hours Once implemented, wires will settle on Sundays and weekday holidays. Saturday will remain closed.
Payments That Ignore the Business-Day Calendar
Two newer networks settle 24 hours a day, every day of the year, weekends and federal holidays included. The FedNow Service, launched by the Federal Reserve in 2023, processes instant payments around the clock.12Federal Reserve Services. FedNow Service Operating Hours The RTP network, operated by The Clearing House since 2017, provides the same 24/7 settlement. On either network, funds arrive in seconds regardless of the day.
Not every bank participates. If your transaction still travels through ACH or Fedwire, the business-day rules above still apply.
When Interest Starts Accruing
For an interest-bearing account, federal law requires the bank to start accruing interest no later than the business day it receives credit for the funds, not the day you hand over the check.13eCFR. 12 CFR 229.14 – Payment of Interest The bank determines when it receives credit based on the availability schedule of its Federal Reserve Bank or correspondent. If a deposited check is later returned unpaid, the bank is not required to pay interest on those funds.
In practice, a check deposited on Friday afternoon after the cut-off may not begin earning interest until Monday or Tuesday, whichever is the business day the bank actually receives settlement credit. Deposits that qualify for next-day availability typically start earning interest one business day after deposit.