One thing people are forgetting is that it is ILLEGAL to write a check when the funds are not immediately available. If you write a check to the phone company today and drop it in the mail, but won't have the funds to pay that check until tomorrow, that is technically illegal.
Will banks make more money under the new law? That remains to be seen. What is known is that banks already lose hundreds of millions of dollars each year due to check fraud ($815 million last year). Therefore, even the rosy projection of an additional $170 million in NSF fees is still only a drop in the bucket.
It's a matter of which revenue source is greater........The float period in which your bank has the funds from a check you deposited, but is on hold for five business days Vs. The fees they will make on bounced checks from retail customers. It's a double edged sword folks, those banks were making gobs of uses with your money during those five day hold periods on checks you deposited into your account. If this system applies to the consumer's check it must also apply to the deposit the consumer makes at the bank.