@umop3pisdn , @Strawman might correct me but I'm pretty sure the answer is 'because we can'. Ideally in the real world I think you would want the ex date to be the payment date. That would remove the delay between your dividend paying shares taking their ex-div hit and you actually receiving the money. Unfortunately that's not realistic in the real world because it takes time to settle, collate, reconcile and then actually pay the dividend. I can imagine how the '1's and '0's would line up in a lot more structured way in the Strawman universe such that you could align the dates and be confident in the outcome.

Hi @umop3pisdn -- @Noddy74 is dead right. There's no need for us to wait on Strawman, so as soon as your dividend entitlement is received, we credit the "cash". (plus, it's just easier from a systems/data standpoint)