Money that has actually arrived and cannot be reversed — not money that has been sent.
Good funds are funds a recipient can rely on: credited, available, and not subject to recall. The term exists because a credit appearing on an account is not always any of those things.
Provisional credit, uncleared cheques and payments that can still be recalled all show as a balance. A conveyancer or a treasurer who acts on that balance before it becomes good is exposed to a reversal.
Contracts requiring completion 'in good funds' are specifying finality rather than arrival. That is why the phrase survives in property and large-value transactions, where the difference has consequences.
Value date is when funds become available. Good funds is a statement that they are also irreversible.
Finality is the legal concept. Good funds is the commercial phrase for its practical effect.
See also value date · settlement finality · same day value · cut off time
We hold no settlement or clearing calendars. This entry defines the term and demonstrates nothing, because a near-miss borrowed from exchange closures would imply coverage that does not exist. See what we hold.