Is there a time limit as to when an ATM transaction can be debited from the customer's account. Scenario: Bank purchase - deposits transferred on date of conversion (a Friday)- selling bank "forgot" to turn of their ATM's - customers used the ATM's over week end. ATM went into offline mode and released funds - selling bank is requesting a return of the funds (two+ weeks ago). We are returning the funds, but want a hold harmless agreement from selling bank "citing" the requirement that these transactions must be done within "X number of days" following the transaction and in this case it was not done within that time frame. Anybody know?

Unless there is something in your agreement (could not tell if you are the buying bank or just a member of a network in common with the selling bank), I don't know of any rule. If you're the buying bank, check your purchase agreement. If you're a network member, check your network's operations rules.

No matter what you do, you're going to get flack from customers. Some (believe it or not) will complain the debit didn't post soon enough, so their usual reliance on ATM and TeleBank procedures to get balances gave them bad info. Others will raise section 205.11 errors based on the date the item hits their account (I wasn't anywhere near that bank on that date. I was out of town). So be prepared to field those objections.