When ordering something online on a Friday, you must have wondered why the order takes two days to process. Some usual questions like, ‘is Saturday a business day?’ must have popped up in your mind. Here’s the answer:
Saturday is not a business day. Although it’s considered an extra working day as restaurants, stores, hair salons, and beauty parlors are open, banking sectors and services businesses are closed on Saturdays.
The world’s famous nations did not always consider Saturday as a non-business day but due to many factors and employee retention, the common Saturday and Sunday weekend rule was implemented.
So let’s dig deeper about ‘Is Saturday a business day?’ Why and why not?
Is Saturday a Business Day?
Saturday is not a business day in the majority of the countries around the globe. Saturday is a part of the weekend and is considered to be a relaxing day off from work just like Sunday.
However, if you still see people going to work on Saturdays you must have thought it’s a business day. That’s because some organizations do operate on Saturdays, but these days aren’t considered business days.
Since the concept of a business day can vary from one region to another, many factors influence the length of business days in a week. These include the region’s local traditions, religious practices, or corporate activities.
The common business days in most nations of the globe start from Monday and go on till Friday excluding the national holidays. The world’s business activities operate from Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. However, Saturdays are considered to be non-business days.
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Business Days in the US, UK, Europe, and Canada
The United States and the other western regions like the UK, Europe, and Canada consider Saturday and Sunday as non-business days. Several businesses, food chains, service stores, or companies can operate on Saturdays but due to the banks being closed, many industries tend not to operate on this day.
One of the biggest factors that made the business world exclude Saturday from the business days is because of banks. Most banks around the world are closed on Saturday and Sunday.
Since the business’s transactions aren’t processed by banks on a Saturday, therefore Saturdays are considered to be non-business days.
Now, one thing that gets people confused is when they mix business day and working day.
There is a difference between working days and business days. Saturday may not be a business day but it is a working day sometimes.
So what is the difference between a business day and a working day?
Difference Between a Business Day and a Working Day
The main factor that differentiates business days and working days is working days can sometimes fall under a Saturday or Sunday as well. Since Saturday can be a working day, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is a business day.
Business days are commonly when many, if not all, organizations, industries as well as banks operate their business activities. On the other hand, when an organization is open to accomplishing its work, they are called working days.
Some days are not included in the business days of the week such as Monday to Friday but are considered working days.
So when any organization is open for business, it is known as a business day since all the nation’s economic activities are carried out normally.
The typical working days mostly fall under business days. These business days, businesses are able to work, buy and sell products, and conduct transactions through banks and other financial facilities.
Some working days, on the other hand, are extra days that various companies operate on for work.
Working day means that they can conduct their routine work but they will be unable to process official transactions which require banks.
Holidays as Working Days
Hours worked on holidays are similar to working days. Employees receive their full pay for working on holidays just like any other business day.
On a national holiday, employees are expected to complete their daily work tasks even if it’s an online or remote job, but the day is not counted as a business day for that organization.
Do Banks Open on Saturdays?
Most banks do not operate during non-business days, which include Saturdays and Sundays. However, banks do offer their ATM services and some banks may even open for customer services on Saturdays.
Even if banks open on Saturdays, they are only open for a limited amount of hours such as early in the mornings or mid-afternoon hours. This can help people who don’t have the time to go to the bank during normal business day hours because of their workload.
On the other hand, banks tend to close on the same hours a person gets off work which makes it impossible for some people to visit the bank on time for their transactions.
Direct deposits are not processed on Saturdays. However, bill payments are operational.
Banks operating on Saturdays facilitate these customers by giving them a chance to use the banking facilities even if it’s for a short period of time.
Why Is Saturday Not a Business Day for Banks?
Saturdays are non-business days for banks because the banks’ capacity to conduct any high-level transactions throughout the whole system with the Federal Reserve is badly affected.
Saturday is a weekend so it’s not a working day for banks. A typical business day is any day that doesn’t come under any national holiday or isn’t a Saturday and Sunday.
In the United States of America, since Saturdays are considered to be holidays, the Federal Reserve is closed on that day.
Consequently, the banks are not able to process any operations or transactions with the Federal Reserve.
Banks Are Closed on Saturdays
One more reason why banks are closed is it’s not cost-effective for the banks to operate on Saturdays. Most of their customers, business, or organizations that they work with/under also remain close on Saturdays due to it being a non-business day.
As a result, the banks are closed as well because the organizations that use their facilities are also not operating.
However, banks do still provide their ATM service 24/7 as well as their online banking system through a mobile app, this can allow people to withdraw or send money any time of the day.
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Is Saturday Considered a Business Day for Shipping Services?
Saturdays are not considered a business day for shipping and delivery services which means that they do not process, deliver or ship orders on a Saturday.
The reason they don’t operate their shipping facilities is that the employees or workers are taking an off on their well-deserved weekend.
However, some services such as food industries or online grocery marts deliver in exchange for an extra fee.
When Is Saturday a Working Day?
Sometimes, companies tend to operate their business activities on Saturdays, excluding the business transaction activities which involve banking facilities. However, these days are not considered business days but are considered working days.
In the majority of the countries around the globe, Saturdays are rarely considered a business day. That does not mean that companies and businesses are relatively closed on Saturdays.
Sometimes due to special scenarios and situations, businesses tend to operate on Saturdays when a company has too much workload they are forced to make employees work on Saturdays.
Business-to-Business Working Days
All of this depends on business to business such as some businesses operate on only the 5 typical business days of the week which are Monday to Friday.
While some companies work on all seven days of the week but Saturday and Sunday are considered working days instead of business days. These types of businesses can include grocery stores, marts, department stores, restaurants, and cafes.
These businesses tend to make most of their revenue on the non-business days of the week since many working people of the population are out to enjoy their weekends.
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Is Saturday a Business Day for Online Stores?
The modern era has brought as many online store facilities as there are brick-and-mortar stores. But, Saturday is not a business day for online stores but may be a working day for some online stores that deliver food, groceries, medicines, etc.
Online stores can be accessible to customers at any time of the day through their phones, laptops, or other devices easily. They don’t require an opening or closing time frame. One can place an order at any time of the day.
However, that does not necessarily mean that their order will be processed that very second. These businesses operate online but their products are usually kept in a physical warehouse or any physical facility.
These warehouses operate as per the usual business day hours. If one places an order on a Saturday or Sunday, the order would still be processed on the following business day, i.e Monday.
Is Saturday a Business Day for USPS (United States Postal Service)?
The United States Postal Services (USPS) do not consider Saturday a business day however, they do consider it a working day.
The USPS office is typically not open on a Saturday but they do process their mail deliveries on Saturdays. They provide their normal shipping or delivery service of documents or packages even on Saturdays.
Plus they don’t charge an extra fee for doing so.
However, they do not operate on Sundays at all. Unlike the USPS, most courier services do not consider both Saturday and Sunday as business or working days.
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FAQs
What Is a Business Day?
A business day is when any organization operates normally and conducts its business activities. These business days are those days which are known as the 5 typical working days of the week.
These days start from Monday and go through till Friday. The majority of the countries around the world operate on these same business days.
A typical business day’s duration is from 9 am to 5 pm in western countries meanwhile in African countries it runs from 8 am to 5 pm.
How Did Saturday and Sunday Become Non-Business Days?
The concept of a two-day weekend was first introduced in the late 1800s when people observed various religious traditions that required rest days.
For example, the Jews were taking a day off to rest on Saturday, the Muslims traditionally took a day off on Friday and the Christians did so on Sunday for Church.
However, things have changed a lot in the modern era, nowadays Saturdays may not be considered business days but many stores, restaurants, service facilities, and companies operate on Saturdays.
However, due to banks not operating on this day, this day would be considered an extra working day and not a business day.
What Are the Common Business Hours?
The most common business hours in the United States and the majority of the nations of the world are 9 am to 5 pm. However, the hours can depend from business to business but most of them go by the famous 9 to 5 rule.
These business hours are corresponding with the 5 business days a week which are Monday to Friday.
An organization that is sometimes operating on weekend days, Saturday and Sunday, consider these working days. The employees are given lesser hours of work on these working days instead of the usual 9 am to 5 pm timeframe.
This helps the organization reduce the stress on employees while still keeping the sales up during peak times on the weekends.
Do National/Religious Holidays Affect Business Days?
Yes, national and religious holidays can affect a nation’s business days. The world has various different types of national and religious holidays throughout the year. These holidays are considered non-business days as well.
Even if these holidays fall on a typical business day of the week, such as Christmas on a Monday will be considered a holiday and non-business day.
Due to these holidays, many organizations and industries often don’t operate their business activities on these days as well.
These national or religious holidays depend from country to country, such as every country having a separate independence day. Therefore, if one country is observing a holiday and a non-business day another country might be considered that day as a normal business day.
As an example, here are some of the holidays that western countries collectively observe throughout the years.
- New Year’s
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas
Here are some of the holidays that are only observed in the United States of America alone and not in other countries.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Memorial Day
- Columbus Day
- Veterans’ Day
Do Wire Transfers Happen On Saturdays?
Although you can initiate a transfer on weekends such as on Saturdays and Sundays, wire transfers can not be completed on Saturdays. It will be processed on the next business day.
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Final Thoughts
Saturdays are the days when one relaxes after a long week of work. The majority of the world considers Saturdays as non-business days. So in the future, you might wanna consider going to the bank on a Monday or a Tuesday instead of a Friday and getting your transaction in the pending folder.
However, modern technology has allowed men to work on Saturdays from their homes with ease and comfort, which is why Saturdays can be considered working days but not business days.
