{"id":4229,"date":"2024-10-06T17:40:27","date_gmt":"2024-10-06T17:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartspending.ai\/5-steps-to-take-during-an-online-banking-outage\/"},"modified":"2024-10-06T19:02:31","modified_gmt":"2024-10-06T19:02:31","slug":"5-steps-to-take-during-an-online-banking-outage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=4229","title":{"rendered":"5 steps to take during an online banking outage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Did you experience an online bank outage today?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some\u00a0Bank of America\u00a0customers reported having trouble accessing their bank accounts on Wednesday, Oct. 2. A spike in mid-day outages was reported by\u00a0Downdetector<\/a>, which monitors website outages.<\/p>\n

While some customers of the second\u00a0largest bank in the country\u00a0reported not being able to log on to the bank\u2019s website, others were able to log on only to be surprised to see \u201c$0\u201d as their account balance. Meanwhile, others received error messages that their accounts couldn\u2019t be retrieved, according to social media reports.<\/p>\n

It can be distressing to discover your bank account with a zero-dollar balance; more so to the countless number of Americans who choose to do their primary banking online. Upon realizing it\u2019s a website outage, distress can turn to frustration by the inconvenience. Still, in such a sudden personal financial crisis, there are steps you can take to reduce your concerns when such technical complications occur.<\/p>\n

Customers and experts react to the Bank of America outage<\/h2>\n

Multiple Bankrate employees were among those unable to access their Bank of America accounts Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome clients are experiencing an issue accessing their accounts and balance information today,\u201d a Bank of America spokesperson told Bankrate in an email Wednesday afternoon. \u201cThese issues are being addressed and have largely been resolved. We apologize for any inconvenience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFreaking out. My balance showed zero too!!!,\u201d reported one of the bank\u2019s customers on Downdetector.\u00a0Another bank customer posted on X (formerly Twitter), \u201cWelp, my Bank of America accounts just emptied themselves out\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the cause of today\u2019s outage at Bank of America has yet to be determined, such bank outages are feared to be the act of criminal minds, but in many cases it\u2019s the result of technical issues. Earlier this year in July, for example, a problem from a seemingly routine software update prevented customers of multiple banks from accessing their accounts online. This was the result of a software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike that crippled many computers running Microsoft Windows. The result was a global ripple effect that was felt across several tech-dependent industries over a period of several days, most notably airlines and banks.<\/p>\n

Outages that affect bank customers can serve as a reminder of the importance of keeping some cash on hand. \u201cWhether it\u2019s a natural disaster, a blackout or some other cause of an outage, these events underscore the need for keeping cash in at least a couple of different accounts in separate locations,\u201d says Mark Hamrick, Bankrate senior economic analyst. \u201cKeeping a little bit of cash on hand at home in a safe place is advised as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

As scary as these outages can be, there are five ways to help you cope with, and reduce, the stress from an online bank outage.<\/p>\n

1. Don\u2019t panic when there is an outage<\/h2>\n

The idea of being unable to see your bank account balance when you live paycheck to paycheck or need to pay a bill pronto is scary.<\/p>\n

But if your bank is out of order online, feel secure in knowing the institution will restore the service as soon as it can. Banks have multiple layers of checks and balances in place to make sure that\u00a0your account is secure and safe\u00a0\u2014 redundant data centers included.<\/p>\n

You may want to check the bank\u2019s social media handles for information on what happened and when the institution believes it can restore service to calm your mind.<\/p>\n

Also consider reaching out to the bank\u2019s customer service line to get more information on the issue and stay posted on the bank\u2019s resolution plan.<\/p>\n

2. Try another banking channel to log in to your account<\/h2>\n

Beyond waiting it out, you can try another bank channel. If the\u00a0mobile banking app\u00a0is out, try logging into online banking on a laptop or on another device. If\u00a0online banking\u00a0doesn\u2019t work, try the bank\u2019s branch or its call center.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very rare that there would be an outage at a bank that would cover all four of those different access points,\u201d says Paul Benda, senior vice president, risk and cybersecurity policy, at the American Bankers Association.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind, however, that contacting the call center could cause frustrations. If there\u2019s an unplanned problem at the bank, there\u2019s a good chance that the institution is getting bombarded with calls so you might have a long wait time.<\/p>\n

Another avenue to consider: Visit an ATM to get your bank balance or to take out cash.<\/p>\n

3. Pay bills directly with creditors<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re stressed out about paying a bill on time, you have another option: Go to the website of the creditor or service provider, and have the money pulled from your account.<\/p>\n

You could also go the more traditional route of\u00a0writing a check\u00a0to your biller, or make an in-person cash transfer at a bank branch.<\/p>\n

Many servicers now offer the option for consumers to pay bills in real time. So, if there is an outage, you don\u2019t need to worry about scheduling a bill payment days ahead of the due date. Instead, you can pay it immediately after service is restored.<\/p>\n

4. Check for fees, fraudulent activity after you\u2019re back online<\/h2>\n

If you have incurred any fee \u2014 including overdraft fees \u2014 because of a bank outage, contact your financial institution to request a refund. Some banks will automatically refund certain fees, like\u00a0Wells Fargo\u00a0did\u00a0in a\u00a0major 2019 outage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You may also want to keep a close eye on your accounts in the weeks to come after an outage. Fraudsters\u2019 attempts to impersonate you typically spike during an outage, says Shirley Inscoe, a now-retired senior analyst with Aite-Novarica Group, a research and consultancy firm based in Boston.<\/p>\n

To combat their efforts, she suggests double checking all transactions in your account after an incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt only takes two or three minutes to just sign in and look over the activity and make sure \u2018yes, I did all of those things and all of that looks right,\u2019 and sign back out,\u201d Inscoe says.<\/p>\n

5. Ditch the idea of getting a backup option, unless\u2026<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019ve experienced an online bank outage, you may feel like you want a backup bank account to avoid repeating that scenario. But that approach is an extreme one. While an occasional outage isn\u2019t rare, repeated outages at the same bank would signal a problem. If you feel like a backup bank is necessary, you ought to do something bolder.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m having too many outages with my bank, I would go find another bank that has fewer outages,\u201d\u00a0says Nitin Tandon, managing director, chief information officer at Vanguard.<\/p>\n

His point underscores what experts encourage: Hold your bank accountable for the service it\u2019s delivering.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe expectation of many of our clients is \u2014 and should be \u2014 that [banks are] no different than the power company,\u201d says Ken Meyer, chief information officer at Wells Fargo. \u201cThey expect us to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bottom line<\/h2>\n

Online banking outages can be frustrating, but by taking the above steps, you can ensure that your finances remain secure. Remember to stay calm, stay updated through social media or by\u00a0contacting the bank\u00a0and monitor your account activity after the outage to check for any fees or fraud. If you have any concerns, the bank\u2019s customer service department should be available to offer assistance.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Former Bankrate writers\u00a0<\/em>Ren\u00e9 Bennett<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>Mary Wisniewski<\/em>\u00a0contributed to previous versions of this article.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Did you experience an online bank outage today?\u00a0 Some\u00a0Bank of America\u00a0customers reported having trouble accessing their bank accounts on Wednesday, Oct. 2. A spike in mid-day outages was reported by\u00a0Downdetector, which monitors website outages. While some customers of the second\u00a0largest bank in the country\u00a0reported not being able to log on to the bank\u2019s website, others<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218],"tags":[248,209,259,258],"class_list":{"0":"post-4229","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-banking","8":"tag-banking","9":"tag-online","10":"tag-outage","11":"tag-steps"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}