The Wall Street banks are facing criticism after announcing that customers would receive payment no earlier than Wednesday.
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March 15, 2021 4 min read
Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase have drawn anger from customers after notifying them that they would not receive their stimulus checks until this Wednesday.
After President Joe Biden signed his signature $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package into law last Friday, Wells Fargo’s Twitter account announced that same day that eligible customers would not receive a direct deposit of their stimulus payment until March 17. The account also linked out to an FAQ page that explained that the bank would process “all of the direct deposits according to the effective date provided by the U.S. Treasury.”
Customers who are eligible to receive direct deposit of their stimulus payment may expect it as soon as March 17, 2021. https://t.co/ujd9oUUWmP
— Wells Fargo (@WellsFargo) March 12, 2021
The news did not sit well with a number of Twitter users, many of whom had expected their checks to arrive sooner.
“There so no reason to wait that long,” one user wrote in reply. “Y’all really honestly are the worst to bank with lmaooooooo I hate it here.”
“Yeah, I’m switching banks after this,” another added. “There is NO reason why you can’t send them out this minute.”
“It’s criminal that you’re holding on to the stimulus payments until the 17th,” a third wrote. “There is zero reason to hold onto them. I predict this will be the last straw with a lot of people. This is a horrible move on your part. You deserve the loss of customers.”
Like Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase let customers on Twitter know that “most electronic deposits will be in the account — and available to spend — as soon as Wednesday, March 17.” The latter’s social media account also drew criticism.
“Credit unions and other banks are already posting payments,” one person wrote. “Why are you sitting on ours?”
“It’s criminal that you’re holding on to the stimulus payments until the 17th,” a second tweeted back. “There is zero reason to hold onto them. I predict this will be the last straw with a lot of people. This is a horrible move on your part. You deserve the loss of customers.”
In response to the backlash, Wells Fargo spokesperson Jim Seitz told Fox Business that the government — not the bank — had, in fact, determined the timeline of payment distribution.
“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,” Seitz said. “Wells Fargo is not holding the funds.”
As CNBC reports, some Americans received their payments as early as last Friday. A spokesperson for Current told the outlet that the mobile banking service had started crediting payments to customers’ account without waiting for the government funds to settle. The spokesperson estimated that approximately 25 percent of Current’s eligible account holders have already received some form of payment.
For more information about the stimulus plan, check out our coverage here:
You can also use this tool to see when your check is coming.