The date on which the actual transfer of cash or securities is completed.
It follows the trade date, with the gap set by market convention: most stock markets settle two business days after the trade, written T+2. The United States moved to T+1 in May 2024.
The date on which a financial transaction, such as a stock or bond trade, is executed or agreed.
It marks the point at which contractual obligations begin between buyer and seller, even though the money and securities change hands later, on the settlement date.
The date on which funds are effectively credited to or debited from an account.
It determines when money actually becomes available, and when it starts or stops earning interest. A credit booked today with a value date two days out is visible on the statement but not yet usable.
The gap between booking date and value date is why a bank balance and an available balance can differ.
The date on which a transaction is officially recorded in the account ledger.
It can differ from the value date because of processing delays or bank cut-off times: a payment made late on Friday may be booked on Friday but only take value on Monday.
In a camt.053 statement, the booking date is what determines which statement period an entry appears in, which makes it the date accounting software generally posts against.
