I’m not sure how to phrase this question, but is there a set day of the week on which banks… do things? Like how interest is usually compounded quarterly, but if it’s done weekly do most banks do it on a certain day?
I recall a time when banks began advertising that they compounded interest, on savings accounts, on a daily basis, I’m not sure exactly when it was, maybe twenty years ago, give or take. Probably when computers came into common use.
Generally, your interest payments will be based upon your statement cycle, which is in turn based upon the date you opened your account. If your account became active on Tuesday, May 30th, your statement cycle would run through the 30th of each month (it may vary by up to three days per month due to weekends and bank holidays, but that’ll be the general timeframe). Monthly interest would be paid on the 30th, or if the 30th is on a weekend, the business day immediately before it. Weekly interest would be paid on Tuesdays. Quarterly interest would be paid on the 30th (or thereabouts) of August, November, February and May.
Certain banks give customers the option of changing the statement/interest cycles of their accounts. If yours does not, and you’d prefer a different cycle, you can speak with a sales representative about closing your current account and reopening a new one with a more agreeable cycle.
Banks do things every night. Interest calculation and payments are only one item. They have to process millions of transactions made daily through different portals (branch, telephone, internet, direct debit, pre-authorized payments, direct deposit, cheques, payroll, interbank transfers, etc). Typically banks do these things well. Usually each type of interface is developed and maintained by a specific group of programmers and operators. On any given night, there would be hundreds of programs being run to process and maintain the integrity of the data.
As Roland points out, some nights are busier than others based on the schedule set up by the business.
Also, interest can be compounded daily, but it may be calculated and paid monthly so that the processing time dedicated to it would only occur once a month instead of daily.
I had a friend who work for the operations team at a bank and was familiar with the schedule of various applications. He went to a bank machine on a Wednesday night and tried to get money out but did not have enough to withdraw. The payroll program had not yet completed so he let the person behind him use the machine and then went back to it when they were finished. They couldn’t figure out why he didn’t have money in his account at 10:15PM, but did at 10:20PM.
I had a related experience. This was years ago when ATM’s were fairly new. My bank limited withdrawals to $200.00 per day, but on this occasion, a weekend, I needed more, so I went to the ATM just before midnight and took out $200, waited until a few minutes after midnight, and tried again, w/ no success. I tried again, early the following morning, and got my money. I found out later that the machine didn’t reset until around 3 or 4 AM. Don’t know if this is still the case or not.
I once asked a teller at my bank if I could come in late at night and play with the money. I told her I always imagined a few of the higher ups would hold orgies in the vault, using a thick mattress of cash. She said that didn’t happen. . . at least not that she knew about. A few weeks after that conversation I was making a deposit, and she pointed out one of the “higher ups”. We both started laughing. Guess ya had to be there.