Are Banks Open the Day After Christmas (December 26th)?

There is a very unusual schedule on the week of Christmas for federal institutions and public schools. Schools are typically closed for the entire week of Christmas. In some states, schools are closed for the last two weeks of December and then reopen after New Year’s Day. This is great news for students and teachers alike.

It is obvious that virtually every federal institution will be closed on Christmas Day. In fact, most retail stores are closed as well, even Walmart. Christmas is the only day of the year when Walmart closes. The only businesses you will find open on Christmas Day are restaurants. But, what about the days before and after Christmas? What businesses are open on those days?

You will certainly find retail stores open on Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas. As for federal institutions, that is a different matter. Regardless of what day of the week Christmas falls on, federal institutions will typically be closed for only one business day before or after Christmas. In most cases, a federal institution will be closed on Christmas Eve. So, if Christmas came on a weekend, then those employees would get Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off.

The question that most people have is, “Are banks open on the day after Christmas?” The general answer is YES. December 26th, the day after Christmas, is quite a busy day at banks because so many other people have the day off and it is the perfect time for them to do their banking activities. However, most banks are not open on Christmas Eve. This gives banks at least two consecutive days when they are closed: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

For instance, if Christmas were to fall on a Wednesday, then you could expect banks to be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, on Thursday, they would reopen again. On the other hand, if Christmas were to fall on a Saturday, then the banks would be closed on the day after Christmas just because it is a weekend day. If Christmas were on a Friday, the banks that normally have limited hours on Saturday would be completely closed on that day in most cases. Therefore, banks are only open after Christmas if the day after Christmas is a weekday.

In 2020, the day after Christmas is a Saturday so there is a good chance banks will be closed or have limited hours.

What you need to understand is that banks are companies just like any other business. They only follow the federal holiday schedule because the deposits of their bank are insured by a federal institution called the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. According to the current federal holiday calendar, the only federal holiday in December is Christmas Day on the 25th of the month. It does not set any holiday guidelines for December 24th or 26th. This means that each federal institution can decide for themselves whether they close on the 24th or 26th. There is no federal requirement to do so.

 

In Summary

If you want to find out for sure if your bank is open on the day after Christmas, the best thing to do is contact your bank and ask them. If you were to visit your local branch or call their toll-free number, the banking employees will be more than happy to give you the schedule for the month of December.

Once you receive the schedule, it will likely confirm the scenarios that were described in this article. The day after Christmas will be open if it is a weekday and the day before Christmas will likely be closed. That is the common practice of most banks in the United States.

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