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Pretty tired of Paypal's "make money on the float" policies.....

I drafted almost $500 from my bank account about 5 days ago. The bank sent it immediately but Paypal still hasn't credited it to my account.

I'm a big boy and all that and I do realize that these transactions take a little time-but the "3 business days" period that Paypal specifies?

How many in this forum think Paypal isn't generating interest income on bucks that they're holding, and obviously have cleared to invest or to credit
to the customer, while the customer has to stave off people that Paypal is holding up their funds for?

Let's see hands, please.

I have some Congaree swamp land that would be perfect for condominium site development.....image
No,no- the kids and the cat are all right honey.
It's just that I got my PCGS grades.

Comments

  • Heck, my bank does that, too. They hold for up to 36 hours, and we're even in good standing with them (I thought). I agree that PayPal (or any online banking system) has no business holding for that long.
  • JCMhoustonJCMhouston Posts: 5,306 ✭✭✭
    Yep, it amazes me how they can take money out of my account in half a heartbeat, but takes days to get it transferred when I request money back to my account.
  • spoonspoon Posts: 2,798 ✭✭✭
    The best one I've seen is a credit card I used to use - you can pay your bill online with a linked checking account, but you have to make electronic payment more than two days out from the due date or else it counts as overdue and you're hit with a $39 fee and possibly jacked up to the highest possible interest rate. To remedy this, they found the grace to allow a rapid payment option which is exactly the same as the normal routine, but credits your account instantly... for just a small fee of $12.

    I understand ACH transactions can take some time to fully clear. But the delay with most places is utter BS.
  • RobPRobP Posts: 483 ✭✭
    It's the same wherever you are in the world.

    I've had money transferred into my bank from Australia even as we communicated by email. You can have faster payments at no extra charge in most instances from one account to the next and the money will appear instantly, even though they say it may take up to a couple of hours to appear. This includes the account in the next sentence.

    Funny though. It isn't possible to pay my private bank issued credit card off using faster payments from my private (same) bank, current account. That has to wait the full 3 days for a payment through the bank clearing system. I wouldn't like to imply that they are trying to catch you out so that you incur late payment charges, but I can bypass the delay by paying my private credit card bil from my (different bank) business bank account at no extra cost. Keep on the ball and take responsibility for running your account as cheaply as possible because the bank will use any means possible to enhance its income given the regulatory pressure on "unfair charging structures".
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I never really thought about it, to be honest. I don't have a problem with the 3 days, usually. Most of the time what goes into my PP account goes back out again before I can siphon any off to the bank.

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  • WWWWWW Posts: 2,609 ✭✭✭
    If I were to try that tactic, I'm afraid that I would run the risk of being accused of check kiting. But when a bank does it and it's innocently called floating. Grrrrr...
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Did you hear how Bernie Madoff recently said the government is nothing but a Ponzi scheme?

    He almost has a point.

    Almost.

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  • I think it has something to do with the banks using the money to prop up their balance sheets, if they always have 1-2 business days worth of other people's money it helps them meet their capital requiments for fractional reserve banking.

    My source?? Well it makes sense as a business practice and I remember some head of an Australian small business association implying it a few months ago. Small businesses have to wait the 1-2 days for customer payments to appear in their account.
    Still thinking of what to put in my signature...
  • The banks have gotten ultra sophisticated in playing the float.

    First of all, Wells Fargo is going to be the Walmart of banks if it isn't already-buying them up and consolidating all over country.

    I was offered a deal on our business account that would involve letting WF suck all the money out of our account in the evening, after 5 p.m., then
    put it all back by 10 a.m. the next business day to pick up some interest on the money, to be added to our account at the end of the month.

    We could pick up some money this way; but not nearly enough to justify all the worrying I'd be doing between 5 p.m and 10 a.m. the next morning
    about whether or not our money would reappear or possibly be lost forever in the Azerbaijan stock market or out there in the ethric somewhere. image
    No,no- the kids and the cat are all right honey.
    It's just that I got my PCGS grades.
  • GaCoinGuyGaCoinGuy Posts: 2,715 ✭✭✭✭
    The wife and I actually caught our old bank taking debits out, putting them back and taking them out again on different days in an attempt to catch us underwater.

    We printed out the statement online for 10 days straight and found it happening every day. We took a trip to Cherokee one anniversary and our debit for the hotel room cleared one day, the next it wasn't even on the statement, and then 2 days later, it reappeared after we had made a couple of withdrawals from the ATM. I guess they figured...Cherokee, ATM withdrawls, Casino, maybe we'd get desperate and overdraw? We spent exactly $200 in the casino, left with $240.

    I penned a letter to the editor of our local paper and you wouldn't believe the followups from other customers of theirs who had the same experiences. One man actually showed that he was down to about $50, wrote about $300 in checks to cover a powerbill, and deposited $500 the day after writing the check. According to his bank statement, both items appeared on his account the same day and they took the check out first and charged him the extra $39 and then applied the deposit.

    That bank was siezed by the FDIC this past Friday image

    It's the 2nd bank here in the county to be siezed in the past year. The other was for allowing bad loans and letting local companies float checks to the tune of $1000s of NSF fees PER DAY. The president of that bank was quoted and saying, "The bank was hoping the economy would turn around faster and allow these companies to 'catch up'."

    Paypal is like any other bank, imho...GREEDY. BUt if you wanna do any business on FleaBay, what else can ya do? Me and the wife sell from time to time, so we just play their game and keep a $0 balance on Paypal most of the time.
    imageimage

  • BailathaclBailathacl Posts: 1,011 ✭✭✭
    I'm under the impression that it's a lot easier to transfer money electronically between private accounts in European/EU banks, and that if the U.S. had a similarly sophisticated system it would render PayPal obsolete. Am I off-base on that? Is there anything (other than loss of banking profit centers) that's holding the U.S. back from advancing to the European system? And are there any problems with that European system that are not consumer-friendly?
    "The Internet? Is that thing still around??" - Homer Simpson
  • STLNATSSTLNATS Posts: 1,597 ✭✭✭
    would involve letting WF suck all the money out of our account in the evening, after 5 p.m., then put it all back by 10 a.m. the next business day to pick up some interest on the money, to be added to our account at the end of the month.

    These are called sweep accounts and have been around since at least the mid 1980s. At the time this product was made possible by relatively high short term interest rates that were much much higher than today. High rates at the time made "sharing the float" a worthwhile proposition by providing the business customer with a return on an otherwise non-earning asset (a checking account). Also, sweeping funds out of the bank at the end of the day reduced the size of the bank's balance sheet and economized on the amount of capital required to support the bank's deposits. I'm a little surprised that these are still around since short term rates are so low today (3 month Libor was .31% yesterday, short term rates used on sweeps are likely much less) but I guess if they have the capability then there's no reason not to use it.
    Always interested in St Louis MO & IL metro area and Evansville IN national bank notes and Vatican/papal states coins and medals!
  • nicholasz219nicholasz219 Posts: 1,386 ✭✭✭
    It's great isn't it? I think I have used the same check service too that calls you late unless you schedule your payment for the payment date at least two days prior. No such thing as paying it on the date it is due and being on time.

    When I discover that I am doing business with banks or credit institutions like these, I do my best to pay down any balance and close the account with a letter or meeting with a manager to tell them what I think of their "fees" and "policies". Let those companies starve.
  • nicholasz219nicholasz219 Posts: 1,386 ✭✭✭
    Canadacolornut: I didn't realize there were opportunities in the Azerbaijani stock market! Sign me up
  • I just try to beat them at their own game. Keep a $0 balance in my PP account, and use the PP debit card for all my petty purchases. PP gives me 1.5% cash back, and it takes them 3-5 days to pull the money from my bank account. In essence, PP pays me interest to borrow money from them.
    I'm not afraid to die
    I'm afraid to be alive without being aware of it

    image
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