I just changed banks. When I used my debit card at my old bank, the debit showed on my statement immediately - that's it. At my new bank, it shows on my statement three times! Once as a "pre-auth", a deposit back to offset & 3rd the actual debit. Why the difference - the debit cards are the same?

Ask them - I have never seen this information printed on a customer statement and I have been in a lot of banks.

That is odd that all of that shows on your statement. That is how the process of a check card works, but I don't ever remember seeing it on a statement like that.

Like RL said, call your bank and ask.

I have noticed on my bank statements that it will record a transaction differently when I use my debit card as a credit card rather than a debit. In fact I prefer to use it as a credit card. It debits the account the same way, but the format on my bank statment is easier to read. You may want to give it a try the next time you use it.

At a local bank here in town, that is how check card transactions show up online ... the pre-authorization shows up immediately, and then when the transaction actually comes through (the settlement), both the settlement and the pre-authorization are on the account, with a credit to offset the pre-authorization. However, as soon as posting is completed, the pre-authorization and the credit offset disappear and are replaced by the actual check card transaction.

However, this is only online ... my statement never showed anything other than the actual debit.

The bank uses NetTeller.

In the past, the authorization would prove availablility of funds, however, the cardholder could essentially re-use the same funds over and over resulting in a loss for the bank when the debit settled. Today, most banks debit the account at the time of authorization to prevent losses. Your bank has very inefficient way of posting these transactions.