<p>Double-entry bookkeeping guarantees that for every credit there is a debit.</p>

<p>It's not really different for a bank than for you or I.</p>

<p>I can claim that I've got an account with myself for 10 squillion pounds, but everyone will ignore me. The only balances that matter are the physical currency that I hold, and the accounts I have with other people or institutions; e.g. my bank account.</p>

<p>It's the same for a bank: the balances that matter are the physical currency that it holds, and its accounts with other people and institutions. Predominantly, other banks, including Central Banks.</p>

<p>Clearing Houses are institutions, or groups of institutions, that act as intermediaries to ensure that when one bank has a bunch of transactions with another, the net balance is transferred correctly while minimising counterparty risk. And the Central Bank offers a settlement service: for example, banks with sterling deposits will (typically) have an account with the Bank of England, which <a href="http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/markets/Pages/paymentsystem/default.aspx" rel="nofollow">carries out settlement between banks</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-06T21:09:21.737Z
What do you mean by cash in hand?
user2309840
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-07T04:14:41.307Z
I still don't really understand.  Say I bank with Wells Fargo and my power company banks with Deutsche Bank.  I arrange for an electronic funds transfer to pay my electrical bill.  Wells Fargo debits my account, and sends money to Deutsche Bank.  How?  Do they both have accounts in some central government bank or other third party?  The central bank then debits one account and credits another?  Who exactly are these third parties?
user2309840
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-07T04:56:28.737Z
I've edited the answer to try to make it easier to understand. But it sounds like your actual question is "how does banking work", which is far too huge a question for this Q&A format. You might want to look at one of the introductory economics courses on Edx or Coursera.
410 gone
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-07T17:29:39.403Z
I guess this kind of answers my question: https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2006/bulletin-2006-39.html
user2309840
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-06T16:42:52.747Z
2016-10-07T04:55:14.437Z
2016-10-07T04:55:14.437Z
410 gone
<p>I'm worried about the difference between seeming honest and actually being honest.  I know banks rely in part on a good reputation to stay in business.  But it seems to me that as long as a bank has a plausible argument that they acted in good faith, they are free (and perhaps indeed it might be greatly in their interest) behind the scenes to be arbitrarily dishonest.</p>

<banking>
What guarantees that for every credit there is a debit in an electronic fund transfer?
user2309840
# What guarantees that for every credit there is a debit in an electronic fund transfer?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-10-06)

I'm worried about the difference between seeming honest and actually being honest. I know banks rely in part on a good reputation to stay in business. But it seems to me that as long as a bank has a plausible argument that they acted in good faith, they are free (and perhaps indeed it might be greatly in their interest) behind the scenes to be arbitrarily dishonest.

**Tags:** banking

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-10-06. Score: 1

Double-entry bookkeeping guarantees that for every credit there is a debit.

It's not really different for a bank than for you or I.

I can claim that I've got an account with myself for 10 squillion pounds, but everyone will ignore me. The only balances that matter are the physical currency that I hold, and the accounts I have with other people or institutions; e.g. my bank account.

It's the same for a bank: the balances that matter are the physical currency that it holds, and its accounts with other people and institutions. Predominantly, other banks, including Central Banks.

Clearing Houses are institutions, or groups of institutions, that act as intermediaries to ensure that when one bank has a bunch of transactions with another, the net balance is transferred correctly while minimising counterparty risk. And the Central Bank offers a settlement service: for example, banks with sterling deposits will (typically) have an account with the Bank of England, which [carries out settlement between banks](http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/markets/Pages/paymentsystem/default.aspx).

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: What do you mean by cash in hand?  
> **username_0**: I still don't really understand.  Say I bank with Wells Fargo and my power company banks with Deutsche Bank.  I arrange for an electronic funds transfer to pay my electrical bill.  Wells Fargo debits my account, and sends money to Deutsche Bank.  How?  Do they both have accounts in some central government bank or other third party?  The central bank then debits one account and credits another?  Who exactly are these third parties?  
> **username_1**: I've edited the answer to try to make it easier to understand. But it sounds like your actual question is "how does banking work", which is far too huge a question for this Q&A format. You might want to look at one of the introductory economics courses on Edx or Coursera.  
> **username_0**: I guess this kind of answers my question: https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2006/bulletin-2006-39.html  

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