Debit Card Payment Processing times?

[helliecopter]

Can anyone tell me if there is a limit on the time a company can take to process a debit card payment?

I paid for an item on the 7th March but the funds have only just left my account today.

[Skyline D]

There probably is a limit but I'd imagine it's much longer than that. Presumably something similar to the cheque clearing time?

I've had occasional transactions, particularly from one retailer oddly enough, that have taken over a month to come through. It's not that unusual, especially if for any reason your retailer had to process the thing manually due to a electronic comms failure.