While most of us try to do our best to keep track of charges going out of our bank and card accounts, occasionally, there are a few mystery fees that slip the net. For example, you may have seen a notification under the name of HOLD REL MEM CR appear on your statement – and wonder what it’s all about.
HOLD REL MEM CR isn’t a charge – it seems associated with check clearance problems, indicating that someone who’s paying you has failed to clear funds.
In this guide, I’ll take you through why HOLD REL MEM CR may be showing up on your financial statements and what actions you need to take when you see it.
What does HOLD REL MEM CR mean?
The general consensus is that HOLD REL MEM CR refers to a check deposit that’s ”held” by your bank for a few days.
Typically, when a check pays into a bank account, said bank will place the payment on hold to “clear.”
That means your bank (if you’re the receiving party) will wait until they’ve confirmed with the sending account that there are funds available for the transfer to complete. Depending on the sending and receiving banks in play, this can take several days to process.
If this transfer backs out for whatever reason, it’s sometimes known as a “bouncing check.”
Essentially, HOLD REL MEM CR refers to a payment that needs to clear with your bank before you can use it. Eventually, the payment should clear and add funds to your bank account providing there are no problems with solvency at the sender’s side.
How do I prevent HOLD REL MEM CR?
Unfortunately, there’s really not much you can do to prevent HOLD REL MEM CR, however, there is a handful of things you can do if you’re worried about the transfer completing.
Firstly, always check the deposit processing terms and conditions for your bank. A clause or condition should state how long your bank will hold check payments while they wait for clearance.
The time taken will vary depending on your bank, meaning you may (for example) have to work five business days for the payment to clear in full. If there’s still no confirmation of the check clearing after that time, you can contact your bank to find out more.
The only way to legitimately avoid HOLD REL MEM CR in future is to simply change the way you receive payments. If you don’t like waiting for checks to clear, consider accepting direct transfers through e-wallets such as PayPal or online holding services such as Wise.
Why do banks use HOLD REL MEM CR?
HOLD REL MEM CR isn’t a code used by all banks. In fact, evidence suggests this code largely relates to Chase Bank accounts. In any case, HOLD REL MEM CR is used to flag when a check payment is on hold while it’s verified.
HOLD REL MEM CR and check holds protect you from sender accounts backing out of payments. It also helps protect senders from entering unauthorized debt if they don’t have money to complete the transaction.
Ultimately, it’s a security measure. While it’s inconvenient at times, and while seeing HOLD REL MEM CR on your statement can be a little surprising, it’s all in the name of making sure everyone’s transactions complete as smoothly as they expect.
There’s no way to stop your bank from using HOLD REL MEM CR. The only way to avoid this feature, as mentioned, is to simply switch to a different method of receiving money in future.
Can my bank stop HOLD REL MEM CR?
Your bank won’t be able to stop HOLD REL MEM CR or check holds if they’re still in transit. For example, if the message has appeared on your statement and you’re still within the clearance period advised in their terms and conditions, you’ll need to wait until the end of the period advised.
After this time, it’s wise to contact your bank for more details. Advisors may be able to raise an investigation into why a check has gotten “stuck,” and may be able to release the funds in some circ*mstances.
Otherwise, it’s also good to speak with the sender if you can. There may be an administrative error with the sending bank that’s preventing money from transferring. If there’s not enough funds to cover this type of transfer at the end of the period suggested, the check will typically “bounce” and your sender will need to pay again.
Before You Go…
Mysterious chargeson our bank and credit card statements can be very frustrating. We’ve done as much work as possible to get the bottom of this issue, but we could always use your help.
Please let us know in the comments whether you found this article useful or not. If there’s something we missed or anything that needs to change, please do let us know. Your feedback and constructive comments help us make this content more valuable for everyone. Thanks!
by Andrew Garcia
Andrew, an alumnus of South Florida State College, loves finance, fintech, and coding. When he’s not crunching numbers at the bank, he’s passionately writing about personal finance and building calculators for PFF. See more.
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