One piece of good news here is that because of the rapid adoption of electronic check imaging, the Federal Reserve is a year or so away from completing the consolidation of all its processing centers. As a result, many more checks are already local. So when you deposit them, they hit your account more quickly.

The bad news, however, is that there are still a number of exceptions that allow banks to put a hold on part or all of the deposit, often for at least five business days. Any deposit over $5,000 is automatically suspect. If your account has been overdrawn at least six days in the last six months, then the bank can delay all deposits to your account. If your account is less than 30 days old, then your bank gets the extra time there, too (plenty of fraud happens in new accounts).

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The large deposit exception ensnares plenty of people, according to Gail Hillebrand, senior attorney for Consumers Union. They include those who are paid on commission or quarterly and those earning royalties, and a large number of others moving money around from, say, a brokerage account to their checking account to pay big medical or tuition bills or buy a car or house.

She suggested taking an active approach with the bank when big money is involved, deposit by deposit. “Ask the bank if there will be a hold and how soon you can have the money. Don’t assume it’s going to be there because the teller smiled at you and accepted it,” she said. “If you’re moving money for a big payment, do it well in advance.”

Banks can and do move faster than the regulations require. And some have pushed their daily deadlines for depositors later by a few hours. Credit unions, in particular, tend to clear deposits more quickly, according to a 2007 Federal Reserve study of the effect of Check 21.

But you can’t count on that happening. So if you can’t keep a cushion in your checking account to protect yourself from running out of money while waiting for deposits, there are a few other available tactics.