At the end of February, all paper checks will be processed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and there will be no such thing as a non-local check, as a result of rules changes approved last week by the Fed's Board of Governors.
As a result, credit unions and banks will have to make funds available more quickly when someone deposits a paper check. Credit unions have currently can hold the funds on a non-local check for up to five days.
The change will take effect on Feb. 27.
The full rule can be found at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/bcreg/bcreg20091231a1.pdf
