The online systems of banks are reportedly being put to the test as many U.S. citizens log on to check if they have received their $1,200 stimulus check from the IRS. PNC called the levels of banking activity “unprecedented.”
CNET reports that many banks across the United States have reported issues with their online and mobile banking systems this week as many Americans expect the $1,200 IRS stimulus checks to arrive in their accounts. Banks such as Chase, Capital One, PNC Bank, US Bank, and Navy Federal as well as the Cash App have all reported outages of their services on their Twitter support pages.
The web outage reporting service Down Detector has also shown a large spike in outages for these banks and other online banking services.
A spokesperson for PNC bank stated that customers have experienced intermittent access to online banking services because of an “unprecedented volume of customers using these channels to check their accounts for Economic Impact Payments and other forms of financial hardship relief.” The spokesperson added that PNC is working to address the issue.
A spokesperson for Chase bank said that it’s seeing increased volume but stressed that the website and mobile apps have not experienced an outage. Spokespeople for both Cash App and US Bank stated that their teams are investigating the issue, a spokesperson for Capital One stated that the bank is “working to get things back up and running as quickly as possible.”
Over 80 million Americans have set up direct deposits with the IRS and are expecting to receive their $1,200 coronavirus stimulus payments by the end of the week. Others will receive a check for $1,200 in the mail.
The IRS has created a “Get my payment” website for Americans to check on the status of the stimulus payment.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com