It has nothing to do with credit rating...it's all about the kind of account he has. If his account is new, then banks will hold all deposits through the ATM to make sure they clear, even cash since the ATM cannot distinguish between a cheque and cash. Most banks will cash a payroll cheque at the teller, which would give your friend incentive to get to the bank instead of using the ATM. Better yet, if he were to have his cheques directly deposited to his bank account.
If he's short like that, he could always go to a pay day loan place...I used to work for one, and they have you write a cheque out to yourself and leave it with them to be withdrawn on payday...but with that said, if he's depositing his cheques through the ATM and it's taking 6 business days to clear, the chances of the cheque to the payday loan place bouncing are pretty good.
My bank used to hold my deposits as well, until I complained about it...I've now been with the same bank for over 10 years, and they don't hold anything deposited through the ATM up to $10,000 (I wish! LOL).
I know someone who is older than I am, makes more money than I do, and he just switched banks from CIBC to TD, and since his account with them is brand new, they're holding all deposits through the ATM for 5 business days until he gets more history with the bank.
And to answer the question...writing a cheque when you know you don't have the funds to cover the face value of the cheque is considered fraud.
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