I'm with Wachovia - I have multiple business and personal accounts with them. They post the money into your account even if the check has not technically cleared. It always takes 7-10 days to clear a check. If the check bounces or is turned down during the time frame, you are still responsible for your account and the funds in it. For this reason alone, if a client writes a large check that I cannot cover if it were to bounce, I don't write checks against it for two weeks.

Now with the introduction of Check 21, the check is converted into an e-check so it may move the process through faster, but I don't know the exact time frame.