I will come back a second time on what Mr. McKay said. I hope that will not happen too often.
I would like to say a few words about instantaneousness. I know that you cannot answer, but perhaps you can tell your banking institutions that since money seems to move instantaneously, this should be reflected in the banking payment system. I know that ING, of which I am a client, is fairly good in that area. When I make a payment which does not go through, the money goes to a buffer zone for pending transactions, and I can see that the money has not yet been deposited in the other account. I can see that the money has left my account and that it is there. But with other institutions I deal with, when I do a transaction, my money is in limbo for a certain amount of time, and I don't know where it is. I simply wanted to point that out. I hope you will pass on this message.
Further, I have a question regarding processing delays. It seems that there's no consistency in this area amongst banking institutions. I would like to have an explanation. Let me give you an example from my own experience. At the end of the year, when the time comes to contribute to my RSP, I decide to sell some shares. I receive a cheque for the sale of these shares which I deposit into my account. On the same day, I write a cheque for my broker so he can take the money and put it into my RRSP. But since the cheque I received from my stockbroker is held for a certain number of days, the money is not immediately available in my account. So the amount is taken from my line of credit and I have to pay interest.
If the same rule applied to the cheque I wrote, it could be said that the bank still has not deposited my money into my RRSP. So you end up in a situation where the bank still does not have the money and yet charges me interest. However, it still has not transferred the money to the other institution.
First, do you process transactions involving cheques?
Second, how do you explain the fact that when it is convenient for the bank, the money is not available, but when it is convenient for the consumer, the money must be debited immediately?