During the last week of the month, I set up the online payments for mortgage, utilities, stuff like that. The payment options include choice of date, so I set the payment date for the 1st of the month, unless it falls on a weekend.

One would expect the electronic payment to happen virtually instantaneously, no? I mean, those electrons zip along quite smartly. Especially since I set it all up a few days in advance, a day being an eternity in computer time, which is measured in nanoseconds.

Nothing bad is going to happen, with the money just sitting there; it's not like I'm going to have a memory lapse and go out and buy a bunch of expensive stuff and overdraw the account. But it bothers me to have it sitting there, when the mortgage was due (and payment set for) the 1st, which was a Friday.

Why is my checking account showing zero activity, and this is the 3rd of June? Why does it take so long for electronic payments to be transacted?