In this article, we’re exploring the difference between available balance vs current balance.
In short, available balance is money you can spend while current balance includes pending incoming deposits.
We’ll dive into the difference between them further and share key details on
This is part of our free series on sending a bank transfer and making the most out of your bank account, which you can access here.
Feel free to use the table of contents to jump ahead to the sections most relevant to you.
Table of Contents
- Available Balance vs Current Balance
- Why Is My Available Account Balance and Current Balance Different?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Do You Want Help Opening Bank Accounts?
Available Balance vs Current Balance
The main difference between available balance and current balance is that available balance is the amount of money that an individual can spend in their account immediately while current balance is that amount of money that a person will have available in the future.
In other words, available balance is the current cleared balance available to them while current balance is the available balance plus pending deposits that are expected to clear in the future.
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Why Is My Available Account Balance and Current Balance Different?
The reason why your available account balance and current account balance are different is because available account balance includes cleared deposits while current balance includes cleared and pending deposits.
For reference, cleared deposits refer to deposits that have entered your account and have been cleared by the bank. So, the money is now in your account and available for use.
On the other hand, pending deposits refer to deposits that have yet to enter your account and have not been cleared by the bank. In other words, the bank needs to confirm these transactions before they are available for use.
How Long Do Credit Card Pending Transactions Take?
Credit card pending transactions can take between two to seven business days, depending on the card issuer and the type of charge. Credit card pending transactions can impact the available balance on a card, as payments that are not cleared will impact the credit balance available to the cardholder.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are three of the most common questions we receive from people looking to understand available balance vs current balance. If you have further questions you would like to ask our team, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
What Is Current Balance?
Current balance refers to the total amount of funds currently in the account and the total pending funds that will be in the account after the bank clears them. In other words, the current balance is what you can spend right now plus what you will be able to spend soon.
Does Available Balance Mean I Can Use It?
Yes, available balance does mean you can use the corresponding balance to make purchases. This is the amount of money that in your account that is available for use. In the case of credit cards, available balance refers to the amount of credit available to the cardholder. This does not include any pending payments that they may have made.
What Is the Difference Between Current Balance and Available Balance?
The main difference between current balance and available balance is that current balance is the combined total of cleared deposits plus expected deposits that have yet to clear while available balance is the total amount of available money in the account that an account holder can spend.
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