> "The payment was supposed to be wired electronically, but because it needed to be made on an emergency basis on a holiday, Mitsubishi cut a physical check"
So, on a holiday, the electronic systems were "closed", but the paper check could be deposited normally? Irony abounds.
Paper checks don't actually move money around, computers changing numbers in electronic ledgers do. A paper check is just a device to trigger that process.
The distinction is most probably legal. The transaction couldn't close until payment was received - and the paper check could be "received" but a wire transfer couldn't until the next day.
Likewise, they could put the funds on their balance sheet at the moment the check changed hands. I'm sure they also had accounts payable, so this allowed them to be solvent despite the fact that the check hadn't yet been deposited.
The check wasn't meant to be deposited through traditional means. Checks like that give creditors some tangible evidence that the company will not collapse because of the imminent cash infusion.
So, on a holiday, the electronic systems were "closed", but the paper check could be deposited normally? Irony abounds.