It is called, playing the float. The institution is holding the money and using it to make very short term investments, as short as overnight. In other words they are making money with your money before they make it available to you. I've seen this most often the large commercial banks, who are really a bunch of thieves in pinstriped suits. Not too many years ago I was getting a direct deposit to an account with a major bank. The money appeared in the account on payday, which was fine. I switched to a..... are they still called, credit unions? Anyway, a "savings bank" association that works for the benefit of its members. Once the switch was made, the money was deposited and available a day early, that is, the day before "payday." Same thing with SSA, which pays on the second or third or fourth Wednesday of the month, depending on your birth date. It use to be actually available on Tuesday, but when I was using the aforementioned commercial bank it didn't hit until Wednesday. Once I switched to the credit union it hit the account on Tuesday. As of the first of this year it now hits on Monday. On an individual basis it is not a lot of money, but when you multiple it by thousands, if not millions, of customers, we are talking "real money." 🙂
Glass-Steagall needs to be reinstated in it entirety, no changes. Then there should be a criminal investigation into those who were behind its repeal.