NatWest processing debits before credits.

A question about : NatWest processing debits before credits.

A heads up folks.

I just checked up on my accounts on NatWest and noticed something. They do tell you that account transactions can be reversed from the account.

Right at this moment I'm seeing all the debit transactions being fully accepted and processed, but a large credit still waiting to be made `permanant`.

That is darn naughty. I thought the greedy banks would process the credits first, make sure they are done and dusted and THEN process all the debits.

That's sneeky. Really sneeky. Does every bank do this underhand tactic?

Best answers:

• My Halifax account usually processes credits before debits,
  Now there is a trick here , so I'l whisper it........
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  The banks usually update the transactions between 3am 4am.
  Occasionally !, very occasionally I make a blunder and I missed a due payment ! i.e. I wrote a cheque and forgot all about it, and I log on at say 4am and yo ! my accounts in the red ! - Okay quickly do a online transfer from the websaver to the current and it shows the credit as being BEFORE the debit ! Eventhough that is not the way it was ?
  Now saying that, I've not chanced going beyond the overdraft limit so can't say what effect that would have - maybe one day I'll do a test run
• Finally, after all these years, a question where my banking qualifications are put to use. Took look enough.
  A statement is a basically an accounts journal and debits have to be listed before credits. A few years back you even got the different columns on statements. Some banks still keep the traditional format.
  However this old rule seems to be on the way out, some banks, because of online/real time banking, show the transaction in order of processing. Others may show credits first (in overnight processing) because their system flags overdrawn entries as they are processed and not at the end of the process. So, if debits were done first, their daily over-the-limit report would contain entries which are incorrect.
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• Well, in this case NatWest should have processed the transactions in the order they were made.
  On the front page mini-statement it shows as the credit coming first followed by the payment and transfer. On the night on the actual online-statement the payment and transfer got finalised first and the credit was still showing as pending.
  Still a naughty thing to do.
  Still, it seems that the way the NatWest system works, it did not put me overdrawn. The total in the account remained in the black. Which is good.
  Still a little uncomfortable to see such a thing happen.
• I was stung by this by Halifax when I banked with them. Basically I had written a cheque a couple of days before, and then on the 2nd day after it was presented I went into the branch to pay some money in to cover it.
  I was assured by the cashier that the cheque hadn't been presented yet (wasn't showing on their system) and I logged onto internet banking and it was showing as in there and cleared. However I went in later that day and queried whether the cheque had been presented - it had, and had been returned.
  So it either seems like the place that clears the cheques doesn't know about the day's credits until midnight the evening afterwards, or that they do process debits in front of credits so my cheque would have gone out before my cash was credited.
  It's a pain in the !!!!, but it's a mistake you only make once. (They refunded me the charge in the circumstances).
  Cheers,
  Chris
• Yeah I know that now, this was a while back when I didn't know what on earth was going on with my finances. Completely up the spout.
  Anyway I was thinking about this a bit more - does this mean that say you have Ј500 in your account. For argument's sake, you withdraw Ј400 from a cash point. Then pay it back in immediately. Then do it again. Then pay it back in immediately again. And then again, and pay it in again. A cheque is then presented for Ј200. Would the cheque be returned as (as far as the system was concerned) you were Ј700 overdrawn at the time the cheque was presented (as this presumably is also a debit so would be processed before the Ј1200 worth of credits for that day)?
  That seems crazy if true.
• It is my opinion that Nat West will do everything they can to stack the odds against you. They appear to go out of their way to ensure you get clobbered with penalty charges; I suspect that's how they make their money.
  My experiance of complaining to them in a similar situation (where a cash deposit was not credited in time to avoid exceeding an overdraft limit) was not good. They appear to have no regard for personal customers unless they can sell you a loan or other financial service.
  I'd find a new bank!
• i've always had problems with natwest, and exactly the same thing. Put cash in but it doesn't clear in time for payments going out. Whenever i called them they were as much help as a hole in the head. They had me in tears once but wouln't budge.
  I'm now in the process of closing the account. first wrote to them about 3 weeks ago. They claim tha=ey cant close the account because i have'nt returned the card to them. I explained it had been destroyed and disposed of, but I just got another letter saying they cant close until i return the card. Argh. Looks like i will have to report it lost, get a new card, then send it back to close the account.
  Seems ridiculous to have to do this, but just reinforces my reasons for closing the account.
  Nickynoo