Abstract: A real-time point of transaction funds confirmation system is provided whereby a draft is presented by a payor to a payee and a bank identifier and an account identifier are electronically read off the draft and used as part of a funds confirmation request. The funds confirmation request is submitted to a network where a plurality of payees and a plurality of payor banks are connected. The payor bank identified on the draft verifies the account identifier and compares the amount of the transaction to an amount of funds available in the account corresponding to the account identifier. The payor bank processor then returns a response message indicating whether or not sufficient funds were available. If the request is a funds guarantee request, then the payor bank will generally place a halt on funds sufficient to cover the draft. Otherwise, if the request is merely a funds verification request, the payor bank may choose not to place a hold on the funds.