Total Balance vs Available Balance (2024)

FAQs

Total Balance vs Available Balance? ›

The current balance of your bank account is the total amount of money in the account, while the available balance is the amount you can actually access and use. The available balance is important to track because it reflects the funds that you can withdraw and use, and may be less than the current balance.

Your available balance is the total amount of money in your account that you can use for purchases and withdrawals, as it excludes pending transactions and check holds from your account balance. However, the available balance will not show checks that haven't been cashed or deposits which haven't posted.

It'll take a couple of days for that check to clear, and once it does, that money will be part of your available balance. Your available balance is a better figure than your current balance to judge how much money is in your account.

Can I spend my current balance? You can, but you have to be mindful about other financial transactions you have made. Your current balance reflects all your money, in addition to funds that are being held or are in transit, such as checks.

The total balance in an account reflects the sum of all funds deposited, including those that have not yet cleared or are on hold. This figure represents the total amount of money in the account, without accounting for any pending transactions or holds that might affect the amount you can spend or withdraw.

Total Balance is the full balance on your account, including transactions since your last closing date. It also includes amounts under dispute. Activity in the last 24 hours may not be reflected.

The primary difference between the current balance and available credit is that the current balance reflects the amount you currently owe, while the available credit represents how much credit you have left to use on your card.

Actual - The amount of funds showing in your account without considering incoming or outgoing funds that might be in transit. Available - The funds that are not already allocated to an expense, have settled into your account and can be spent.

It's a good idea to pay more than the minimum payment — ideally the full statement balance — each month, if you can. You'll save on interest, lower your balance and avoid debt.

You may notice upon checking your account balance that these two numbers are not the same. If you've made recent purchases with your debit card, but the financial institution hasn't fully processed the transaction, the current balance will be higher than the available balance.

What is the difference between total balance and clear balance? ›

Total balance is just the current amount in your bank account (This does not include cheque deposits or withdrawals or any other kind of transactions which is still in the process of clearing). Whereas clear balance is the amount in your bank account after taking in to account every pending transactions.

Available balance is that part of the current balance that can be accessed immediately by the account holder and is available for withdrawal. The account holder can use the available balance to make cash withdrawals, fund online purchases, and pay online bills.

In a checking account, the available balance is the amount of money that the account holder can withdraw immediately. The current balance, by contrast, includes any pending transactions that have not yet been cleared. The bank will honor any withdrawal or payment you make up to the available balance amount.

The current balance listed in your account includes any transactions that are pending but have not yet cleared. As such, the current balance might be listed as higher than the available balance — in other words, the current balance can be an amount that's greater than what you're able to withdraw from the account.

A statement balance is the amount that's due at the end of a billing cycle, while your current balance is your total balance as of today.

Remaining balance is the amount you still owe after a payment. Outstanding balance is the total amount you owe (which is sometimes the same as your remaining balance).

Differences in current and available balance can also happen when you make a deposit. For example, your bank might not make all of the money from a check deposit available at once. If you have $500 in your account and deposit a $1,000 check, for instance, your bank may only make the first $200 available immediately.

Your current balance is the total of all the posted transactions as of the previous business day. Your available credit is figured by subtracting your current balance (or amount already used) from your credit limit and adding any outstanding charges that have not posted yet.

'Balance' is the amount of money in your account before all pending transactions have been processed. 'Available' is the amount that you can spend today, and is a more accurate reflection of how much you can spend at that time.