Personal account balance checks are essential for good money management. However, most checking accounts have more than one form of balance. While both numbers give vital information about your bank account, they differ in essential ways.

Definition

The current balance (also known as the credit card balance) indicates the total of all charges and payments made to your account up to that point in time. It contains fees, interest, penalties, credits, and any purchases or payments you’ve made, much like the statement balance.
The available balance of an account is used to establish if there is enough money to fund a transaction. The available balance is the amount of money that the account owner has at the time. The available amount is determined by the account’s deposits and withdrawals, as well as all pending electronic transactions, including pre-authorized transfers, point-of-sale transactions, and merchant payment authorizations, whether or not they have been posted to the account.

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Current Balance vs. Available Balance

The entire amount of money in a bank account is the current balance. But that doesn’t imply it’s all ready to go. For example, some of the funds in your current balance may be from deposits or checks you issued that haven’t yet cleared, which aren’t accessible for use. So it is possible to have a smaller available balance than the current balance. In certain circumstances, you can spend just the available balance (or less if there are pending checks); your banking institution keeps the remaining funds.

Your available amount equals your current balance less any holds or debts that have yet to be posted to the account. The two balances are the same if there are no holds or pending transactions. However, the two balances may differ if you often use your debit card or recently deposited an extensive check.

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