OTTAWA - A small item in the federal budget will be welcome news for anyone who's been frustrated by a seven-day wait for a cheque to clear.
New regulations will set a maximum four-day hold period on cheques.
And banks will have to give customers access to the first $100 from a cheque within 24 hours.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty also says financial institutions will be banned from using negative options. Customers will have to sign up for products and services; they cannot be applied by default.
And the minister plans to strengthen the way banks handle disputes with their customers.
Flaherty wants to set uniform standards for in-house complaint-handling systems.
If grievances can't be resolved internally, he says all financial institutions will have to belong to an approved, third-party dispute-resolution body.
