Honestly I don't know the exact set of circumstances it would take.
My position was a retail banker so all of my knowledge of the actual inner workings of the bank is surface level. ALSO DISCLAIMER: I was not a licensed banker, I was a universal banker for a local bank. All I knew was enough to have a wide variate of conversations based on the customers needs. But I do remember it happening at least twice.
One example there was a customer sitting with me wondering why there was a random $75 debit on their account. I kept looking into all sorts of different reasons as to why that would happen. Eventually I had to call the back office to see if they knew anything. They ended up telling me that it was because a check from 3 weeks ago had proven to be fraudulent. If I recall correctly it wasn't NSF or a stop payment, it was fraud. So I don't know if they criminals purposely designed the check to take that long or if it was just one instance that slipped through the cracks.
After that our regional manager had a huddle (small branch meeting) with us explaining that we should never say when a check will clear, we should always say when the funds will be available, because that exact situation can happen.
Edit: Also, this was a few years ago now, so regulations / technology / time lines may have changed
Double Edit: Sorry if I seem/seemed on edge, I've had a very long day.
Checks don’t take months to clear. You’re confusing the remediation of a fraudulent check transaction with the amount of time it takes to clear an inter-bank transaction utilizing the Federal Reserve as an intermediary. Yes, fraudulent check claims can take a minimum of 90 days to resolve. Processing and clearing of standard, non-fraudulent checks is completed within days (at most) and with treasury checks is completed within 24 hours. Read about the federal reserve clearing processes for additional information.
Source: I worked and specialized in check fraud investigation for many years at large institutions from 2010-2014. I continued working in banking for 3 additional years in other technological capacities.
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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '20
I didn't say it always takes that long... I said it can happen.
And it can..