What is the difference between balance and available balance? - Stanford Federal Credit Union (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between balance and available balance? - Stanford Federal Credit Union? ›

Your available balance is the total amount of money in your account that you can use for purchases and withdrawals, as it excludes pending transactions and check holds from your account balance. However, the available balance will not show checks that haven't been cashed or deposits which haven't posted.

Your current balance reflects the amount of money in your bank account at any given moment. Your available balance is the amount of money you have to spend, including any pending payments and deposits. The key difference is that your pending purchases do not appear in the current balance.

The available balance is the current balance minus any holds, pledges, pending debits, certified drafts, etc.

In a checking account, the available balance is the amount of money that the account holder can withdraw immediately. The current balance, by contrast, includes any pending transactions that have not yet been cleared. The bank will honor any withdrawal or payment you make up to the available balance amount.

The primary difference between the current balance and available credit is that the current balance reflects the amount you currently owe, while the available credit represents how much credit you have left to use on your card.

Your available balance is the total amount of money in your account that you can use for purchases and withdrawals, as it excludes pending transactions and check holds from your account balance. However, the available balance will not show checks that haven't been cashed or deposits which haven't posted.

The available balance consists of the funds that you can withdraw immediately, including through debit card purchases or ATM withdrawals. Your bank will typically allow you to make transactions up to this amount.

Sometimes you'll see an available balance that's less than your account balance. You can only spend your available balance in this case, or less if you have outstanding checks. The rest of the money is being held by your bank.

'Balance' is the amount of money in your account before all pending transactions have been processed. 'Available' is the amount that you can spend today, and is a more accurate reflection of how much you can spend at that time.

Check for Pending Transactions: Look for any pending transactions that may be affecting your account balance. These could include pending deposits, withdrawals, or transfers. Sometimes, these transactions may take some time to reflect in your account balance.

Why is my balance higher than my available credit? ›

You may notice upon checking your account balance that these two numbers are not the same. If you've made recent purchases with your debit card, but the financial institution hasn't fully processed the transaction, the current balance will be higher than the available balance.

Here's what they mean: 'Balance' shows how much money is actually in your account. 'Available' shows how much money you're allowed to use.

Paying either should be enough to avoid interest charges, but paying your full current balance when possible can help improve your credit utilization ratio and potentially your credit scores as a result.

You may notice upon checking your account balance that these two numbers are not the same. If you've made recent purchases with your debit card, but the financial institution hasn't fully processed the transaction, the current balance will be higher than the available balance.

An account balance reflects total assets minus total liabilities. In banking, the account balance is the money available in a checking or savings account. The account balance is the net amount available after all deposits and credits have been balanced with any charges or debits.