Available balance vs actual balance. (2024)

FAQs

Available balance vs actual balance.? ›

Your actual balance, or sometimes just called balance, is the total of all the transactions on your account including any pending transactions. Available balance is what is available for you to use out of this actual balance – typically this is your actual balance minus any pending transactions.

If you look at your accounts on internet banking, you'll notice each account shows two amounts: 'balance' and 'available'. Here's what they mean: 'Balance' shows how much money is actually in your account. 'Available' shows how much money you're allowed to use.

The current balance listed in your account includes any transactions that are pending but have not yet cleared. As such, the current balance might be listed as higher than the available balance — in other words, the current balance can be an amount that's greater than what you're able to withdraw from the account.

Actual - The amount of funds showing in your account without considering incoming or outgoing funds that might be in transit. Available - The funds that are not already allocated to an expense, have settled into your account and can be spent.

In a checking account, the available balance is the amount of money that the account holder can withdraw immediately. The current balance, by contrast, includes any pending transactions that have not yet been cleared. The bank will honor any withdrawal or payment you make up to the available balance amount.

The actual balance displays information about the actual state of your account and part of the funds may not be available. The available balance is the sum that can be used.

'Balance' is the amount of money in your account before all pending transactions have been processed. 'Available' is the amount that you can spend today, and is a more accurate reflection of how much you can spend at that time.

If an account goes a week or two without any activity, its available balance and current balance will likely be in sync. However, once purchases and payments are made with a debit card, that is when the available balance is likely to fluctuate.

Your available balance is the total amount of money that you have immediately accessible from your account. Your available balance typically reflects items that have been paid from your account, as well as certain same-day transactions (such as debit card purchases and direct deposits) that are pending.

The role of business days and holidays

If you deposit cash, that money goes directly to your account and will be ready for you to use immediately. But for checks and other items that might need verification (to protect you and the bank), the money usually won't be available until the next business day.

What is your actual balance? ›

It is important to understand how the two balances work so that you know how much money is in your account at any given time. Your ACTUAL balance is the amount of money that is actually in your account at any given time.

What is a current balance? As the name suggests, a current balance on a credit card refers to the total amount owed on the day you check your account. Thus, the current balance may be a more up-to-date reflection of your debt than the statement balance is.

A pending transaction on your bank account means one of two things: either a merchant initiated a request for payment to your bank because of a purchase you made with your debit card or a deposit is waiting to be released into your account.

Your present account balance (sometimes called the current balance) shows how much money is currently in your bank account—but it doesn't consider pending transactions, which can take up to three business days to clear. That means your present balance will probably run higher than your available balance.

Your available balance is the total amount of money that you have immediately accessible from your account. Your available balance typically reflects items that have been paid from your account, as well as certain same-day transactions (such as debit card purchases and direct deposits) that are pending.

Any purchases, holds, fees, other charges, or deposits made on your account that have not yet posted will not appear in your actual balance. For example, if you have a $50 actual balance, but you just wrote a check for $40, then your actual balance is $50 but is does not reflect the pending check transaction.