Physcal cheques stil needed
Electronic clearing is great, I work in the states for a bank in the computer systems department.

Reason for the waiting period is for verification of the cheque in case of fraud (to protect the bank of course) They don't want people to come in with fraudulent checks, cash them, and walk out with the cash - so the physical checks are shipped to the issuing bank for verification. You'd be surprised at the amount of security features that are built into the checks to prevent fakes from being produced and cashed. The 5 day (or however long it is now) waiting period is there so the checks can be physically verified - they of course electronically debit the amount from the account immediately.

Most banks in the states will balance the inconvenience of the waiting period by making a partial amount immediately available - some will make it all available for long-standing customers, but that's a risk the bank takes that they're cashing a fraudulent check. They'll also make funds immediately available for things like payroll checks with the assumption it's not a forgery - which in itself is a great get rich scheme (check out the movie "Catch Me If You Can" for instructions on how to do this.
(Fogbound, Mon 4 Aug 2008, 18:30, Reply)