Many people get hit with overdraft fees because they have a false sense of their available balance. They check their online account, but the information there may not take into account the debit from their card swipe or the outstanding checks that are pending.
Real-time balances are shown on the Payments > Bank statements and reference payments view. New requests are also displayed along with the time stamp of the request.
Real-Time Balance Check
Real-time balances help reduce risk for both users and merchants by confirming that users have funds to complete transactions. They also provide a better customer experience, ensuring that the transaction can be processed and reducing the likelihood of returned payments and NSF fees.
Your ACTUAL balance is a display of what is actually in your account at any given time, reflecting only those transactions that have "posted" (including deposits and withdrawals). It does not include pending debit card purchases or other pending transactions Members Exchange has authorized but have not yet posted.
If your ACTUAL balance does not cover the amount of a check or automated bill payment that you have authorized, it is likely that you will overdraw your account. That is why it is important to always check your Available balance before attempting any transaction. vanilla gift card balance checker
Plaid provides real-time Balance information via the /accounts/balance/get endpoint, which is available only in conjunction with other Plaid products such as Auth for money movement and account funding use cases or Transactions for personal financial management. Other Plaid endpoints return cached balance data, which may not be as current. The /accounts/balance/get method always retrieves fresh data directly from the institution. However, latency may be higher than with other Plaid endpoints.
Available Balance
Whether you have a Vanilla Gift Card that was gifted to you during the holidays or you have one from a previous transaction, you always want to know how much is left on it. After all, if you try to buy something that exceeds your card balance then the transaction will be rejected. If you are in search of an efficient way to check your balance on Vanilla, this 'how-to' blog post will help you out. All you need to do is provide the necessary details and check your balance online instantly. Moreover, this process is free of any charges.
Ledger Balance
A ledger balance is the amount of money that is reflected on your account at the start of the business day. It differs from the available balance, which reflects the amount of money you are able to withdraw and spend. This is because the ledger balance does not take into account real-time transactions that have been made throughout the day.
Keeping track of your ledger balance is important for both personal and business accounts. It can help you avoid overdraft fees and monitor any unauthorized transactions that may occur. Moreover, it can also allow you to budget your expenses accurately and identify any discrepancies that need to be corrected.
You can find your ledger balance in your bank statement, or you can check it on your mobile app or online banking site. The term is often used interchangeably with available balance, which is the actual amount of funds that are available for withdrawals. But, it’s important to know the difference between these two balances, as they serve different purposes.
The available balance is calculated by considering the total amount of credits, also known as deposits, for a given time period and subtracting the total number of debits. These can include cash withdrawals, checks written against your account, and transfers between accounts. For example, if you make a deposit of $500 and then make a withdrawal of $200, your net available balance is $300.
In contrast, the ledger balance is based on your opening checking account balance at the start of the day. It is not updated frequently like the available balance and therefore doesn’t reflect real-time transactions that are occurring for a given day.
While the ledger balance is more stable than the available balance, it can still be volatile as financial items are processed and cleared from your account. For this reason, it’s important to monitor both the ledger and available balance at regular intervals. Using both to decide whether or not to complete transactions is a good way to ensure you are financially responsible. The ledger balance isn’t a replacement for your real-time transaction information, but it can be helpful in determining whether or not to withdraw funds from an account.