Pay an item one day and return it the next?

An item is considered to be finally paid by the drawee bank after midnight of the second day following receipt. So if you got the check in through the clearing on Tuesday morning, you have until Wednesday, midnight, to decide whether or not to pay it. You may think it is "paid" by the close of business on Tuesday - but you still have the option of returning it "unpaid" on Wednesday. Hope this didn't confuse you. Short answer to your question is, "Yes."

First published on BankersOnline.com 5/7/01