Wells Fargo, Chase not processing stimulus payments until Wednesday, sparking criticism

Banking giants Wells Fargo and Chase said they will not process recently issued $1,400 stimulus payments until Wednesday, causing outcry from their customers.

HuffPost noted that the banks said in individual statements last week that they will not be processing and releasing the payments until March 17.

“We expect most of the electronic payments to be available as soon as Wednesday, March 17, 2021,” Chase said on its website.

“Wells Fargo will process all of the direct deposits according to the effective date provided by the U.S. Treasury,” Wells Fargo said.

The announcements sparked criticism on Twitter. 

So Wells Fargo will be holding gov stimulus checks for 2 days before allowing people to access the funds. This let’s Wells make interest off of ppl’s cash.

67% of Wells’ political donations went to Dems in 2020, including Dem PACs like Ameripac. Nice. pic.twitter.com/QT1EfTb9b7

— Prof Zenkus (@anthonyzenkus) March 13, 2021

It’s your money. The stimulus checks come directly from the United States Treasury. So why are @Chase and @WellsFargo holding onto your money until March 17? https://t.co/pNDYXYMeHy

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) March 13, 2021

HuffPost added that other banking institutions such as Chime made the payments immediately available to their customers. Chime claims to have already provided around $600 million worth of stimulus payments.

“We’ve already made ~$600M available to 250k members. These payments will be available at traditional banks on 3/17 but Chime members already have access and more is on the way,” Chime wrote on Twitter.

Stimmy Alert! We’ve already made ~$600M available to 250k members. These payments will be available at traditional banks on 3/17 but Chime members already have access and more is on the way. No reasons to wait till St. Pattys Day, at Chime you’re always lucky

— Chime (@Chime) March 12, 2021

Stimulus payments were first sent out this weekend, shortly after the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill was passed along party lines.

“We know the importance of the stimulus funds to our customers, and we are providing the payments to our customers as soon as possible on the date the funds are available, based on IRS direction,” Wells Fargo said in a statement provided to The Hill. “Wells Fargo is not holding the funds. March 17 is the official payment date provided by the IRS when the funds are available, and customers who are eligible to receive a direct deposit of their stimulus payment may expect it as soon as the morning of March 17.”

When the first two stimulus payments were sent out, many people reported having issues obtaining them. Those who used tax-preparation services such as H&R Block and TurboTax reported struggling to get their payments, as the checks were sent to other bank accounts.

Individuals can again check the status of their stimulus checks through the IRS’s “Get My Payment” tool.

Updated at 5:50 p.m.