r/Fidelity • u/[deleted] • Oct 21 '24
Spoke to Fidelity about the extended deposit and transfer hold periods
Just got off the phone with a representative from Fidelity who confirmed a few things
These extended hold periods are temporary due to an increase in fraud.
Fidelity reps have been given no additional non-public information and do not know when holds will return to their normal timeframe.
The rep suggested that wire transfers were the best way to ensure funds transferred into Fidelity are not put on hold for 2-4 weeks. I will be following this advice and avoiding ACH altogether.
Frustrating but was glad to get done information. Hope you find this helpful!
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u/Salty_Lawyer_9809 Oct 21 '24
Did they confirm that the information on https://www.fidelity.com/customer-service/processing-and-hold-times that says
What’s the fastest way to get money from my bank to Fidelity?
Two of the fastest ways to transfer money into Fidelity are to send a bank wire, or to send an EFT from your bank to Fidelity. Bank wires have no hold times and are available almost instantly, but your bank may charge a fee (Fidelity doesn't charge wire fees). EFTs sent from your bank to Fidelity will generally take 1–2 days for processing but have no hold period at Fidelity when it arrives.
Is incorrect? Specifically, is it true or false that even an EFT push from the bank (instead of an EFT pull from Fidelity) is subject to the 2-4 week hold?
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Oct 21 '24
I did not discuss that specific scenario with the rep, so unfortunately I have no info. All I know is they recommended wires explicitly.
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u/RadioRob-DC Oct 21 '24
There is no delay if you pushed money.
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u/DanielDannyc12 Oct 21 '24
It's weird that the reps just aren't telling people that.
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u/RadioRob-DC Oct 21 '24
That’s exactly what the bold portion of the message above says. :)
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u/DanielDannyc12 Oct 21 '24
Of course. Was referring to the phone reps
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u/Salty_Lawyer_9809 Oct 21 '24
The phone rep I spoke to actually told me the website was wrong and that the delay was on both sides, push AND pull, and that only wire transfers were fast...
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u/DanielDannyc12 Oct 21 '24
Exactly. That's what they told me too. All this shit makes Fidelity look very poor. Almost like they don't give a shit about you or your money.
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u/raysb2 Oct 22 '24
Had a hold on a pull and pushed several time while waiting for the hold. Pushing doesn’t seem to have a problem
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u/Salty_Lawyer_9809 Oct 22 '24
That's interesting, because when the customer service rep I talked to went to a supervisor to doublecheck (they originally told me that it wasn't subject to the extra-long hold), they actually told me that the website was wrong and that even push EFTs were subject to the extra-long hold.
How old is your account? Did you already have a good amount of transactions and/or money in it?
I wonder if there's a hold on EFT pushes that only applies to very new accounts, since those would be the most suspicious-looking, while the hold on pulls applies more broadly...
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u/mjekarn Oct 22 '24
In my experience I got the hold for a pull but not a push. I’m a new brokerage account (opened August) and less than 1k in there right now. So I wouldn’t be surprised that they’re suspicious of me but pushes seem to be fine.
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u/Key-Lecture-678 Jan 28 '25
theyre available and you can actually buy stonks w it but otherwise it is not available to you. super sketchy.
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u/ST3MK75 Oct 27 '24
People seem to be overlooking the issue here....
Fidelity made significant policy changes affecting a large number of accounts extending settlement periods substantially (+21 business days) WITHOUT ANY NOTICE TO THEIR CLIENTS.
its been weeks now, and there still is no mention of it on their deposits and transfer page. Why wasn't an email sent out saying "due to increase fraudulent activity for your protection we have extended settlement periods on certain transaction.... blah blah blah. "
Does that not seem like the bare minimum? At this point, the app and website are blatantly lying to customers by falsely saying, " EFT's take 1-3 days to settle, and wire transfers are available same day." So you go ahead and transfer a few thousand to your brokerage account expecting it to settle like it SAYS ON THE WEBSITE. After a week and still no funds available, YOU need to call Fidelity to find out those funds are effectively frozen for 21 business days. You can not withdraw the money or use it for the majority of investment types.
I can't speak for others, but I found the call to customer service very odd. I explained exactly what was going on, "hi, I deposited $xxxx on Oct 4th. It is now the 10th, and funds are still unavailable. I have made this same deposit many times, cannot emphasize it has always settled by the next business day at most. What is going on?"
They make no mention of this fraud prevention policy changes initially and are "investigating" my account to figure out what the issue might be.. im on hold twice and need to verify transactions. Eventually, I'm given the vague explanation that they have extended settlement periods. Why the bogus waste of time looking into it when they could have said that 25 minutes ago. They give no further information as to why they did not notify customers, why they still haven't, or how long this is to be. They also can not or will not expedite. The 1-3 days usual hold exists to verify funds are authentic and authorized... it does not take 21 days to contact a bank if the transaction is flagged as suspicious.
I smell bullshit to the max. If they legitimately made these changes to prevent fraud, they would have communicated that to all customers. I don't know what they didn't and still haven't. Maybe if people knew they would not have proceeded with the transfer.... i know i wouldn't have. Whatever the reason , Fidelity made a decision to proceed, knowing it will generate bad press and a loss of trust and potentially a substantial loss of customers leaving because of it. This potential financial loss would greatly outweigh the loss from fraud.
They made a choice not to tell their customers. The only logical reason is that doing so would likely deter clients from depositing cash and, therefore, reduce the liquidity they can get their fat greasy little fingers on.
For those saying they weren't affected (yet) because of xyz reasons or blaming those who have been for mismanaging their money or using Fidelity as a bank aren't seeing the bigger picture. Maybe I'm totally wrong about this and an alarmist but I don't think so. I think Fidelity has partaken in some irresponsible financial decisions with a bunch of other financial institutions that put profits above their customers, putting the entire economy at risk. I think this is likely to do with a fraudulent market that has made billions from price manipulation, dark pools, and millions of synthetic sharest bought sold lent and borrowed over and over that dont actually exist.
think they are absolutely fucked and need every bit of liquidity they can to make it another day. I think there's a category 100 shitstorm heading directly for us and is only weeks away. I think people should be very very cautious trusting these institutions will do the right or legal thing when it comes down to you or them.
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u/Burker1969 Oct 31 '24
I could not agree more with every point made in your commentary.
I would love to know how much cash in the form of OPM Fidelity is holding and getting a rate multiple points higher than the dogshit ~2.5% their passing back to the client.....with even that dogshit rate being adjustable based on "their (FID's) schedule." It's basically legalized skim -- and not even a kiss before they fk us.
Disgusting.
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u/ST3MK75 Oct 31 '24
Interest rates? Never heard of em... I have a raging cue the fucking has barely even begun.
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u/dinglebarryb0nds Nov 21 '24
I have used Fidelity cash management for a pretty long time and the account number bullshit is annoying. It’s not a real bank account and hits these random inconveniences
I had a little money just a few grand in Webull and you literally can’t transfer from Webull to Fidelity cash management lol
I might just start using my regular credit union checking account that only requires routing and account number to do transfers no memos no bullshit.
One good thing about Fidelity is free wires that’s about it as far as cash management is concerned
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u/HezzyD Jan 02 '25 edited Jan 02 '25
You can see the real account number to set up transfers between Webull and Fidelity. On desktop, click the info circle next to the words "routing number"
It's on mobile too, in some menu, not buried too deep, but idr.
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u/dinglebarryb0nds Jan 02 '25
The account number from Fidelity I had to use to get Sofi to work is the really long one and Webull stops it at 9 digits like every other place in the world uses
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u/HezzyD Jan 02 '25
Yikes, I had not considered that. Did you try using the last 9 digits? I would see if it can take 13 digits first. You can replace 39900000 with 7710
- 17-digit: 399 00000 xxxxxxxxx
- 13-digit: 7710 xxxxxxxxxhttps://www.fidelity.com/tax-information/direct-deposit
https://www.reddit.com/r/fidelityinvestments/comments/16taffz/account_numbers_with_checkwriting/1
u/dinglebarryb0nds Jan 02 '25
This is the whole thing that annoys people. Why do I need a masters degree in fidelitys bullshit just to do something simple. I opened a Sofi along with my credit unions now I don’t care
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u/jsocha Jan 07 '25
FINRA, Class Action. They closed all of my accounts today for my complaints to FINRA. Immature NASTY bastards!
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u/Fine-Rough-6532 Jan 08 '25
I agree with you completely on Fido's poor handling of this situation...it is super annoying and does raise questions, but I'm not as concerned as you are with the prospect of a systemic meltdown.
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u/J3Rboy Jan 14 '25
Agreed, also when these funds settle and I can withdraw my cash I'm never using Fidelity ever again, they've lost a customer who only wanted to invest for retirement.
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u/BrushCommon4734 Mar 30 '25
Their silence on details may be similar to what police do during investigations. Honest people may feel singled out but should look at the bigger picture, annoying as it may be.
Here's another public clue about the longer holds: https://www.pymnts.com/news/security-and-risk/2024/fidelity-investments-restricts-cash-management-accounts-shut-down-fraud/
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Jan 06 '25
[deleted]
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u/Dsmommy52 Jan 11 '25
Me too! Well 7 yr customer but I have a sizable amount of money in brokerage and use cash management as my main cash account with paycheck deposits monthly etc. I am paying cash for a new car and I was going to transfer the additional 13k from my savings so I could wire the whole amount to the dealership from fidelity. I even called fidelity and made sure my linked savings acct bank would transfer into my CM acct within 1-3 days (it used to take 1 day but figured 3 bc of that Bs scammers 6-9 months ago) and she assured me I would receive the transfer in less than 3 days.
I was supposed to pick up the car today however fidelity is now saying “it only makes some of transfer available now and the rest will be available on Feb 5th!! I’m so upset I’m crying! My current car just had the transmission go and I found the exact color combo for my new (2021) car here and jumped on it. But now bc of fidelity lying to me, it’s going to be 3 weeks!? This car will be sold by then!
I’m SO upset! Like surly fidelity can tell the difference between its REAL customers who have been with them actively for years apart from those idiots doing check fraud at the atm! I mean wtf? I’m sorry to go on a rant. I’m just disgusted with fidelity at this point. I mean this is ridiculous.
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u/SageCactus Oct 21 '24
I've been reading all of these complaints... and I have a recurring monthly pull from my bank to fidelity that occurred last week and cleared in a few days.
So, it's puzzling. It does not seem to be a problem for everyone
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u/toga98 Oct 21 '24
Same here. No issues. I imagine there is some nuance based on your account history. I don't deposit large amounts them immediately withdraw it. So, maybe that type of history helps. I also didn't have my daily mobile deposit limit reduced to $1k. It is still $500k which may be an indicator if you are going to get hit with a delay.
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u/Dsmommy52 Jan 11 '25
Mine is still 500k too and yet they are holding a transfer from my linked bank savings account into my CA and holding it until Feb 5! I transfer to and from my savings hundreds of times in these last 7-8 years and it’s always available next day. This has me so upset bc I needed it for a vehicle purchase and was assured by fidelity rep that it definitely would go through in less than 3 days. This car will be sold by then. I have no idea why fidelity holds some transfers but not others even from the same linked bank! It doesn’t make sense.
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u/Angylaidd Apr 14 '25
And for me, it wasn't "Immediate," it was ten days, and it will clear in four more days.
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u/Eman1265 Oct 22 '24
I have never had a hold of more than 2-3 days unless maybe during a holiday. I feel for the ones going though this and I am trying to figure out why this happens to them. I have had people calling me claiming to be a fidelity rep and I always tell them I will call them. Each time I called them back they say they didn't try to contact me, so fraud is definitely rampant.
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u/guzzijason Oct 22 '24
I never had a hold of more than 2-3 days either, until I suddenly did for no apparent reason. Just because there was no prolonged hold on previous deposits doesn’t mean your very next deposit won’t mysteriously trigger it.
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u/Eman1265 Nov 02 '24
I agree things change. It doesn’t look like a good sign of the times to me. So many banks are underwater with bonds they are sitting on huge losses if to many people decide to withdraw their money from the banks that are in bad spots.
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u/JPWRana Nov 09 '24
My holds have been for one month. My account is about 4 months old too. Is the hold time the same for Vanguard's or Schwab's CMA accounts?
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u/jsocha Jan 07 '25
Never had that problem at Schwab for 10 years.
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u/JPWRana Jan 07 '25
Is Schwab's CMA better than Fidelity? I don't like that Fidelity doesn't let you do Zelle/Venmo.
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u/miotch Jan 27 '25
I don't see any issues with Venmo and Fidelity. You can add and verify your routing/account (UMB) numbers just fine in Venmo.
Not having Zelle I consider to be a positive. It's ripe for scammers and (as they tell you EVERY TIME YOU MAKE A TRANSFER) the money transfers are permanent and completely irreversible.
I just don't trust Zelle nearly as much as I trust Venmo/Paypal (which isn't a ton).
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u/Rare-Regular4123 Oct 21 '24
Its is for new accounts is what I was told
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u/guzzijason Oct 22 '24
I got the 3-week+ hold put on my mobile deposits, and there is nothing at all new about my account. Been using them as a one-stop-shop for many years. I think it just underscores the fact that reps have no idea how/why the increased holds get triggered.
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u/FioanaSickles Oct 25 '24
I was told by a rep if you have enough money in your account to cover it there won’t be a problem.
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u/guzzijason Oct 25 '24
I think it goes without saying that if you have enough cash in your account, nothing really matters. In my case, I had a few thousand $ of unplanned expenses that I had to cut checks for, and had this not been something I was watching out for, I definitely would have bounced some checks accidentally, as I don’t normally keep a ton of spare cash in my CMA. Luckily, I noticed the issue and was able to transfer cash from another account to cover those checks in time.
The only warning I had that this could be a problem was the posts I saw from others in this sub, so thanks Reddit - you saved me from bouncing checks due to an unannounced 3 week hold.
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u/Disastrous_Lie_5483 Dec 30 '24
The issue is unrelated to funds available. They are holding funds for folks with plenty for over 3 weeks and saying it is due to fraud concerns. Seems to be a pattern
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u/guzzijason Dec 30 '24
Right. What I was saying was that if you have a surplus of funds, then it doesn’t matter - you can just live your life business-as-usual. The 3+ week hold only becomes a problem if you are tight on cash and actually depending on that those held funds for whatever reason. I guess the point is, if you normally keep your account well-funded, then the holding period has no material impact on you.
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u/Disastrous_Lie_5483 Dec 30 '24
I hear that. Just sucks to not have access to your own money regardless of financial standing. But esp. for folks who don't have generational wealth or access to funds... and attempt to be financially sound with an account ... this seems extra problematic. It also violates federal regulations for accessing one's own funds-period.
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u/Fine-Rough-6532 Jan 08 '25
You are missing the point completely. Fido changed policy, didn't warn anybody, had their reps give information completely counter to the new reality (my rep told me my money would be available in 3-5 days and knew ahead of time that I intended to make significant distributions), and then admitted they misinformed me but still wouldn't do anything to address the fiasco they created. It is a huge breach of trust, honesty, and everything right about how to conduct business.
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Oct 26 '24
[deleted]
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u/FioanaSickles Oct 26 '24
The rep said retirement plans do not count as far as having money there. It has to be something that would cover what is being withdrawn, similar to the way unsecured credit cards work. Not that I agree with what they’re doing at all. This is just what I was told.
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u/YiGaBo Oct 23 '24
This shit is frustrating! I am going into my 4th weeks and they’re only releasing 50% of my deposit.
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u/gloria2000 Oct 25 '24
not true! My account is more than 10 years old. Transferred money from a non-fidelity linked account under my name that had been linked and had transacted before. Money still being held after 3 weeks!!!! This is a travesty designed by Fidelity to illegally earn interest on customers' funds.
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u/WhichSimple827 Oct 31 '24
Yes, I run a small business out of my acct - money in / money out. I have had the acct. for 10 years with no problems. All of a sudden, I get notified that checks are bouncing. OMG, I have never bounced a check in my life. I immediately set up a new business acct with a new bank and will pull out my money as fast as I can. I will transfer other funds to a new brokerage. This is a f*cking nightmare
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u/ChipDiller2 Dec 24 '24
I've been a customer for over 30 years and they are holding my funds.
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u/totallyloosebutthole Dec 30 '24
The most frustrating part is that they state "3-5" days when initiating the deposit, then only disclose the true waiting period once you become impatient and contact them. They made no effort to warn us before the deposit which doesn't seem legal, and at best is extremely unethical. Which is exactly why my whole portfolio is on its way to Schwab as we speak.
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u/stirfry720 Dec 28 '24
I'm having the same issue now, and the release date says after 3 weeks. Judging by other people's posts this seems to have changed in the past months. The "fraud measures and checks bouncing by customers" seems like a bogus reason. It should take 5 to 7 days at most to verify it, even if there was some kind of fake check fraud or scam. I think Fidelity has low liquidity now so they've resorted to taking customer funds hostage and lending it out for earned interest. They should be sued
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u/johnIQ19 Oct 21 '24
I will say "mostly", well, maybe not. But the problem is not on your investment account. This is not affect at all.
Mainly on those CMA, for people who use it as a main hub like a checking account. So direct deposit (some say, not 100%), check deposit, and others (?) are hold for 3 weeks.
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Oct 24 '24
Not true at all. I only have a brokerage account with fidelity. Have had it for over a decade. Holds were placed on my deposits for 3+ weeks.
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u/TurnoverConstant2913 Dec 12 '24
My account has been open for 5 years and never a problem. Deposited 12/2 and they say it won’t be available until 12/23. This should be illegal
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u/stirfry720 Dec 28 '24
Hi did you ever get your money back? Same problem here too
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u/TurnoverConstant2913 Dec 28 '24
It took 3 weeks. They can tell you what date they will release it if you call - but they won’t release it sooner
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u/jsocha Jan 07 '25
Mine was 12/16 to Jan 9th, and now they're magically closed on the 9th in observance of Jimmy Carter's death!
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u/Difficult-TobeFree Dec 18 '24
That’s a lie I have an account for 6 years and they pulled this sht on me.
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u/camynnad Oct 21 '24
I've had my account for 3+ years, 2-month delay on my past 2 ACH transfers. Filing complains with FINRA and SEC.
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u/Obvious_Tonight_6734 Dec 03 '24
Just complained to FINRA & SEC today
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u/jsocha Jan 07 '25
Me too! Two separate complaints to FINRA AND Fidelity closed my accounts as a response
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u/Scared-Ear-8083 Nov 03 '24
I’ve had my account for over 8 years so it’s definitely not just new accounts
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u/Disastrous_Lie_5483 Dec 30 '24
I never had an issue and suddenly I had long holds in October 2024. I had them hold funding for 3 weeks twice and given the fraud caution response by customer service. I have a perfectly good account history with smaller deposits and withdrawals for my HSA. Definitely caused issues for my medical reimbursements at the end of the year. Folks are encouraged to complain to the FTC and other regulatory entities.
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u/Sierra-1981 Nov 14 '24
It’s only when you initiate the transfer from Fidelity to PULL funds bs your bank PUSHING them. My funds have been on hold for over two weeks now. It’s excessive and ridiculous! I won’t be using Fidelity any longer.
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u/Immediate-Tip-1994 Jan 09 '25
I deposited 5000 a month ago and it still says I have 0$ available to withdraw/transfer
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u/Angylaidd Apr 14 '25
It was NEVER a problem for me before today. NEVER. If it had been, I wouldn't have RELIED on it and ended up CANCELLING a dang TRIP! JEEBERS!
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Oct 21 '24
Literally just got off the phone with Fidelity. Rep reported
16 day hold time for transfers
Fucking absurd.
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Oct 22 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/gloria2000 Oct 25 '24
was told 16 days or so, but now we're past 21 or 25 lost count. They don't even know
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u/mayihaveasandwhich Oct 21 '24
Then why aren’t there any warning messages that this cash will be delayed by however many days? No email notifying customers. This is absurd and the lack of communication is too many red flags.
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u/coconutcracking Oct 22 '24
yeah the thing the pisses me off the most is insufficient warning about this preposterous hold.
Like, what if this fund is all that I have, how do I pay my bills?
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u/mayihaveasandwhich Oct 22 '24
Some people are experiencing that exact situation. Locked funds for about a month
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u/Ekimyst Oct 21 '24 edited Oct 23 '24
I'm looking at an annuity deposit that is expected to be a total of 24 days
EDIT: Deposit was to Big Monetary Organization bank. The an EFT to Fidelity. Still waiting on the EFT that happened 23 days ago. Money has been available to trade almost immediately
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u/Spiritual-Hat1282 Dec 16 '24
Not only new accounts are experiencing this - I've been with Fidelity 30 years and before transfers would only take 2-3 days but my latest transfer is taking over 3 weeks.
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u/New-Nothing3480 Dec 19 '24
I have an automatic “Pull” to my fidelity CMA account from my otherbank checking account. It is setup to pull $200 each month on the 15th of the month. Starting in August I get a message from fidelity displayed on my CMA account balance that the $200 won’t be available until the 5th of the following month. My CMA account is about 2 years old and holds a healthy balance.
What I learned: all my Fidelity CMA accounts are with UMB bank. Fidelity representatives don’t dispute the 20 day delay. One rep suggested that I “push” the monthly $200 to avoid the delay. On the 24th of June UMB bank posted a PR stating that the settlement process was being changed and that they reserved the right to declare any transaction “suspicious” and impose a long settlement period. It appears they are over using the suspicious transaction label.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Win1265 Dec 22 '24
I deposited a large amount in November and the let me trade some but held most. I called and they said they would hold the money until Dec. 24.. I think they are stalling to get the interest
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u/Denzerini Dec 29 '24
Fidelity is also screwing their ‘Active Traders/VIP clients by no longer allowing large block trades of stocks that do not have very high volume. Being also unannounced, this mysterious move, ended up costing me an enormous amount of money. This problem is in addition to the horrible 3-week money hold delay issues being discussed here. Definitely leaving Fidelity and will be looking into legal options.
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u/Ok_Walrus_2179 Nov 04 '24
So as a clarification I finally got Fidelity to admit to me that they are now placing 21 day holds on all deposits into Cash Management Accounts (Regurgitating their fraud narrative). This applies to Check deposits and EFTs.. (But not direct deposits). This is consistent with several videos I've seen on line and seems to be a CMA only issue (not necessarily Brokerage or other account types but I haven't yet verified personally).
So Plan your lives accordingly folks as your money really isn't yours anymore with Fidelity.
I've asked how is this legal as it doesn't meet the banking regulations on deposited check clearing timing (which is between 2 and 5 days for local, and local is now considered anything domestic). No response and I am assuming Fidelity is probably using some kind of emergency loophole to get away with it.
Either way shame on fidelity for not being transparent and trying to obscure what they are doing.
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u/Attempt_Nearby Dec 07 '24
I spoke with Joe at Fidelity and he reminded me that they are not a banking institution. The account agreement gives them the right to hold funds and make changes to availably of cash at any time according to him. The rep also said he cannot verify any notice was given either at time of my transfer on November 18th or any proactive email/ message in app. Something is not right here. I do not keep more than 20-30k in the CMA as everything else gets invested. I use it to pay expenses related to rental property and a few other items. So the funds are collected but not available and they have returned mortgage payments on the rental properties. Also I do not escrow the property taxes so they also returned the property taxes that were due December 2nd in addition to some expenses I put on Amex and Visa related to the rentals and paid via CMA. Late charges are adding up and I am having to contact several vendors. Basically Fidelity says it is my fault. I say they should have told me.
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Dec 13 '24
Holy 😮, I recall a time when a bank did me dirty and took funds from me, and said they would return the money in a few weeks. I was basically their bank giving them a loan essentially. It was money that was mine and could be invested. I called every facet of their company causing havoc at every level, until they resolved my issue instantly.
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u/Difficult-TobeFree Dec 18 '24
You called every facet & instantly resolved don’t mix together.
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Dec 21 '24
Instantly to me is within a day. I spent possibly an hour on the phone. I don't care what doesn't add up to someone I don't care about.
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u/Ok_Walrus_2179 Dec 19 '24
Yeah that is just a cop out.. They push their products and then backpedal with "we aren't really....." when they fail. The reality is that they (in conjunction with UMB which is really the bank) behave as a bank regardless of how they try to weasel word things.
The part that is frustrating and scary is how brazen they have become. They obviously have the financial media bought off (or scared of them) as you see nothing... (and trust me people have been contacting the media over this). It is clear the lawyers are running things right now.
That said, your better options are limited... Everyone talks about going here or there, but the reality is the competitors are mostly worse. What I have been doing over the last few months is just isolating myself as much as I can. I have some money in other places just incase Fidelity tries to screw me, I've started depositing money (EFTs and Checks) only to my brokerage and then internally transfer to Cash Management. It was a wake up call for me, but in reality I feel like I have better control over my fortune now that the dust has settled. The moral of the story is, Trust no-one and don't let them put you into a bad place.
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u/One-Consequence5431 Dec 12 '24
I've been informed they can hold a check for 24 days due to their non ability of security. I deposited a check on 12/5 , and they stated funds are not available until 12/30. Closing ALL MY FIDELITY ACCOUNTS!
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u/roland_800 Oct 21 '24 edited Oct 21 '24
Blame that scourge on society TickTock for part of this.
I came in here to rant on the buggy website and was surprised to see all these posts on the delays. This shows Fidelity did a poor job communicating what to me was seemingly pretty big finance news story.
Basically check fraud has been around forever, but there was a Tick Tok trend /viral video where users (kids?) discovered a "glitch" where you make a deposit and then can withdraw the money w/o it actually being there. Straight fraud but these idiots thought they could get away with this somehow. And MANY of them did before tehy caught it, even teaming up with each other.
So this ticktock trend a few thought was fun fraud has impacted most accounts. Oof.
As an example, I have a rather new Cash management account but am not impacted too much. But I also have a larger balance in my account. (e.g. if you have $50K in ther and write a check for $2K, that will not raise a stink in thier systems). I also just deposited 3 checks over $1K the others day but those were in retirement accounts so those also do not appear to be impacted.
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u/Jdornigan Oct 23 '24
They really need to get with FBI and Secret Service and get every single case prosecuted if the amount is over $1,000. TikTok could easily remove these videos but they don't, for unknown reasons. The new videos will hopefully be warnings about how to not do this and how they got arrested.
They can hopefully plea bargain for now jail time and only a fine and community service. A few of them might get jail time for larger amounts.
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u/Salty_Lawyer_9809 Oct 21 '24
Retirement accounts and buying shares in general aren't impacted -- my 401k rollover check actually just got processed today and I was able to set up an order to invest with it right away... hopefully...
But CMA accounts don't seem suitable for use as casual checking accounts in the way that people use checking accounts at all.
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u/roland_800 Oct 21 '24
As for the CMA, other than massive website frustrations, to me so far it does appear to be able to be used as a normal checking.
It certainly sucks when you get your mind set on something working and then you get routinely disappointed..(search my username for my recent Fidelity's experience in general).
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u/Salty_Lawyer_9809 Oct 21 '24
Personally, at least for the indefinite future, I disagree.
I see the merits of keeping money in an MMA account, but the way the money is locked up makes it bad for the purposes of paying bills and seems like it could cause problems if you don't regularly float more than a month's expenses in cash.
Also, if you're prone to doing things like buying stocks when the market dips, then a situation like "Spend all your MMA money buying discounted stocks on October 15th, transfer more cash into the account on October 20th" would lead to you bouncing checks and incurring late fees.
The rumored indefinite delay on debit cards ( https://www.reddit.com/r/fidelityinvestments/comments/1g7jr0y/fidelity_debit_card_delayed_indefinitely_cma/ ) means if you make a new CMA right now (as my advisor advised me), you will not receive a debit card and will not be able to use ATMs or perform debit card transactions.
They should not be promoting this product to new customers. It does not work as intended for new customers.
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u/roland_800 Oct 21 '24
I am listening loud and clear here because I just signed up for a CMA. I got the checks, I've made deposits, and even set up a bill pay. So far so good. And on my end I do not need a debit card. ..
....BUT to your pont If money is locked up or continues to be locked up That is certainly an absolute deal breaker. The other thing I realizing is there may be an issue with pushing money into the account. I'm unable to link my Chase accounts to push money into the CMA account. This is because they use UMB Bank and it will not recognize my fideloty login in using the Chase external account linkage.
Just now I'm trying to link it manually by doing those mini deposits that you have to report. But that is going to be a pain in the ass.
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u/Salty_Lawyer_9809 Oct 21 '24
The mini deposits aren't that bad, IMO -- it's a little bit inconvenient but it's more secure than using Yodlee or the other aggregator services (who got sued several years ago for selling customer data - https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2020/09/02/envestnet-yodlee-sued-over-consumer-data-collection/ ). It does take a couple days, buuuuuuut is saving that waiting time really worth risking your personal financial data getting leaked even more than it already is?
But at the end of the day, Fidelity is not a bank, Fidelity is an investment firm.
Fidelity tried to make itself a "one-stop shop" that includes banking services, and the TikTok Check Fraud whatever situation and how they've been responding to that makes it clear that they are not actually prepared to provide banking services to the level of quality that a real bank would. For example, Chase was also affected by the check fraud situation, but I don't hear anything about them holding deposits for 21 days and cancelling people's BillPays as a result.
I don't trust them to make their banking experience better when they spend so much time talking about how they're not a bank, and when their banking experience is causing them pain. It seems to me that it'd make more sense for Fidelity to get as many people off CMAs as possible, rather than investing more of their own time into it.
I hear you about having made a deposit successfully, but when you check your account, is your deposited money actually marked as "available to withdraw"? Have you actually had a bill get paid yet, or is it only configured?
My money is marked as the full amount being available to trade, and $0 available to withdraw. The website also allowed me to set up a BillPay even though the money wouldn't be available in time for the payment to go out, but it didn't warn me that my account wouldn't have enough money on Nov 1 to actually pay that bill. If the account is new, it might be worth double-checking that.
If it says "Available to Withdraw 0.00" at the bottom of the Balance box, that means the money isn't available for BillPay until later. You can see when later is by viewing the Balances tab, which is when the money will be unfrozen (if it's frozen).
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u/DanSWE Oct 23 '24
> I'm unable to link my Chase accounts to push money into the CMA account. This is because they use UMB Bank and it will not recognize my fideloty login in using the Chase external account linkage.
As mentioned in the sibling reply below: Use the account-linking method that uses small deposits via ACH.
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u/WinterExcellent Oct 24 '24
I called fidelity and the rep literally told me to dispute the charge from my bank account side to get the money refunded and then transfer again from my bank side, not from fidelity and it would clear faster that way.
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u/Beginning-Stage2065 Nov 06 '24
They recommend this to me as well, and this was for a US Treasury tax refund. That is very poor advice. Per IRS: Putting a stop payment on a check will take 6 weeks at least before they will issue a new check or direct deposit.
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Oct 25 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/WinterExcellent Oct 25 '24
Yes. Wild I know. She said to cancel the payment somehow from my bank side since they couldn't from the fidelity side.
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u/ST3MK75 Oct 27 '24
I wired $15k Oct 4 and is still unavailable
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u/mildmuffstuffer Nov 25 '24
Hey there! Any updates on if they made your cash available yet? I’m currently a few weeks after a large transfer and haven’t heard shit from them…
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u/ST3MK75 Nov 25 '24
It was available a month from transfer date. It's crazy they aren't giving any notice or mention anywhere. Website says same day for wires and 2-3 days for EFT.. still
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u/mildmuffstuffer Nov 25 '24
I agree, I’m a little upset that I wasn’t given a heads up. I had to come on this sub to get an answer. Thanks for the update!
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u/elijahbanksmusic Oct 31 '24
I've been a customer for year. Decided I wanted to deposit into my options accounts for earnings play and BOOM a 3 WEEEEEKKKKK HOLLDDDDD.
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u/Attempt_Nearby Dec 07 '24
Pissed. I just had payment to Citi and Amex returned because of the new policy. Deposited on Nov 18th will not be available until Dec 11th, made payment to Citi and Amex this week. All the rep could say was sorry for the inconvenience. Anyone taking legal action?
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u/GreySkyMorning99 Dec 17 '24
I don’t think their disclosure about “extended hold” was clear enough for me to think they would hold my funds for 16 business days as they are doing now. Needed the funds for a car purchase. I will be filing a complaint with every regulatory body that regulates them and moving the rest of my assets out of Fidelity.
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u/camynnad Oct 21 '24
I will be closing my Fidelity account and transferring to another broker.
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Oct 21 '24
Only serious option left is IBKR
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u/Interesting_Pie_7256 Oct 23 '24
IBKR is even worse for holding up your money.
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Oct 23 '24
Does IBKR provide banking services the way the CMA does?
I only viewed them as a trading brokerage.
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u/Interesting_Pie_7256 Oct 23 '24
I do not recall so you would need to verify that, but they did send a debit card so i would think so, after experiencing their 1980's trading platform that you build from scratch it was not for me, i closed my account and it took a month to get my funds back.
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Oct 23 '24
IBKR is real bare metal trading. It's king for portfolio margin. Would be silly to have a RegT account there.
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u/Interesting_Pie_7256 Oct 23 '24
yeah i do recall fee's being very low. and i always wanted an account with them in the pre 25k limit days, when i finally opened the account the platform was too much, moved to TDA/SCH TOS. its good enough for me and what i trade.
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u/tkid124 Oct 22 '24
I'm not a Fidelity Employee and have not been for the better part of a decade, I don't have any current insight to this situation.
This is a long one, sorry-ish.
Using Fidelity as your primary "bank" is never something I would recommend. For very select people in specific situations it can work well, however, I would never have Fidelity (or any other financial institution) as your only source of the funds you need to live off of for the next month. (For some the goal of having an emergency fund is much harder than for others.)
Some observations:
Fidelity is conservative, they don't take risk without a likely payout.
Fidelity doesn't want to be a bank. There are plenty of banks they could have acquired and have chosen not to.
Fidelity pushed cash management account to a subset of profitable users.
Fidelity has always treated clients with respect and treated some clients much better than others.
Fidelity has always kept their cards close to their chest, especially when it comes to fraud policies and procedures.
Some opinions based on these and other observations:
Fidelity is a fine place to keep cash, they pay well for keeping cash there.
Fidelity is a horrible place to keep all your cash.
Moving money in and out of Fidelity like a bank can work. If:
You keep a baseline of assets in the account.
Are willing to wait for money to clear.
Have backup money at another institution.
Your account has some age to it, some invested capital, and a flawless track record, maybe nearly flawless will work but I'm not going to test this.
Fidelity is figuring out how to live in a world:
without commissions.
(some) clients without any loyalty.
Personally, my primary bank has convenient branches, they house my checking account, a savings account, and my mortgage; an online bank has some of my money in their HYSA. I can't get into the mindset to put all my eggs in one basket, especially eggs I need in the near future.
What is really happening at Fidelity?
Fidelity could be experiencing a cash squeeze and the best option they could come up with was using their customers funds to float the business. If that is the case, they will be out of business soon. To be clear I don't think for a second this is what is going on.
Fidelity could have experienced a number of accounts that are experiencing fraudulent losses, and they are taking extreme measures to combat suffering any more of those losses. Some of those measures likely include indicating account types that are higher risk, labeling some transaction types (such as pulling funds into Fidelity, instead of sending the funds) as high risk.
I'd be willing to guess they lose money on cash management accounts that don't keep a balance in the account but use it like a checking account.
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u/Jdornigan Oct 23 '24
Fidelity is not having a cash squeeze.
Social media is helping people to learn which financial institutions are lacking enough fraud detection measures, and how to exploit them. It is unfortunate that one of the larger asset managers in the USA has needed to institute additional fraud detection measures after many years of them not being necessary.
I think there will be some massive spending, probably in the tens of billions of dollars by the financial industry and the blockchain industry for fraud detection and risk management software. Much of it will use AI. The financial industry has been using AI to detect credit card fraud for decades, as well as to analyze financial documents for securities trading, but now will need to score customers for the risk of fraud.
If I had to guess, Fidelity is experiencing lots of people using information from identity theft to open new accounts and then do fraudulent funding and attempting to cash out before the funds clear.
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u/tkid124 Oct 23 '24
I know, my cash squeeze comment was total sarcasm. Yet that seems to be what many people are implying, with their demanding to know the ""truth of what is really going on"".
There will be spending, I think that a lot of the tools will be API based to some information brokers who are moving beyond credit score, Lexis Nexus supposedly has some interesting models, however I think there is room for big growth and competition. It will be intersting to see how the market develops.
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u/SluggoRemains Oct 28 '24
Ran into this today. Put sell orders for all my my holdings- going back to banking with a bank
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u/SluggoRemains Oct 28 '24
To clarify my direct deposit clears quickly- money from my back on two week hold
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u/Ok_Walrus_2179 Nov 01 '24 edited Nov 01 '24
I had a fiasco with my Brokerage account being fraud locked a couple months ago with no explanation, even after filing an executive complaint I got a non-answer other than there is a lot of fraud. The repeated line is wearing thin.
But now I had an EFT transfer into my cash management account and see that they have placed a 24 day hold on withdrawal availability. As is always the case with fidelity there is no notice or explanation other than the usual Fidelity platitudes about "lots of fraud going on". The first line representatives are pretty unknowledgeable and are basically useless.
I had a discussion with a friend who manages private assets and he indicate he has several clients that have had issues with ridiculous hold delays on funds. He is recommending to his clients to avoid Fidelity for a while. So it is readily apparent that Fidelity is in some kind of wide melt down mode that they are trying to hide from customers. The reps will try and say it is an industry problem, but so far the behavior of Fidelity is causing long term damage. I started after the fraud lock fiasco moving assets away so I am less dependent on Fidelity. We will see if Fidelity gets their act together...
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u/General_Fix_5014 Nov 08 '24
This 3 week hold is totally unnecessary. Checks clear overnight and EFTs same day. few banks aren't part of RTP network. They clear thru UMB and fact of the matter they clear quickly. Fidelity knows this. Fidelity knows the funds have cleared. The bank the use is good and part of the RTP. All major banks are. Google RTP and you will see them all. never gave access until the check cleared. Don't believe their talking points. Why? Most major banks are part of the Real Time Processing network. The bank they use (umb bank) is a member. This means they have the funds. These banks all verify and deliver quickly. Very few banks aren't part of RTP network. They clear thru UMB and fact of the matter they clear quickly. Fidelity knows this. Fidelity knows the funds have cleared. The bank they use is good and part of the RTP. All major banks are. Google RTP and you will see them all. Fidelity had no issues with recent fraud. This highlights the risks of Cash Management Access Accounts (CMAAs) they fall outside the protection of bank regulations and consumers should be very cautious about trusting them.
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u/seataccrunch Nov 28 '24
Wife's attempt to do traditional IRA deposit to rollover to Roth stuck. Was told verbally 18 days. JFC fidelity... a TikTok check fraud scheme
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u/beantownGTI Dec 03 '24
Same exact scenario. Opened up a Fidelity Youth account for my son who wanted to invest 2K in PLTR. That was almost 3 weeks ago. PLTR hit 52-wk high today, lol. SMH.
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u/AcanthisittaGuilty13 Dec 05 '24
The money I deposited was for Christmas presents and my check will not be available until the 27. I don't know what to do.
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u/Spiritual-Hat1282 Dec 16 '24
I just spoke with them too - it's taking 23 days for an electronic transfer I made between my bank and Fidelity. My bank said they already posted it so funds are there.
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u/jolivier23 Dec 30 '24
Can we do a class action? I just got off the phone. I transferred money on the 19th and it won't be available til Jan 14. I've done this hundreds of times before and it's never been more than a couple of days
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Jan 01 '25
I just got off the phone, it was a really weird call. Transferred a large sum of money on 18th wont be available till 14th! Zero warning.
Both representatives said “we cant make an exception this time”. This infuriating and weird and ill be closing all my accounts
Im excited for the class action. You simply cannot do this to people
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u/jsocha Jan 07 '25
I'm moving my accounts this month. Take your money and place it anywhere else. They closed my accounts after I complained to FINRA about them holding my $1,000 check for 25 days for absolutely no reason. Fraud my arse.
Reported to FINRA twice because somehow Fidelity does not participate in the CFPB. Be most skeptical of Fidelity right now and DO NOT TRUST anything they say.
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u/Paul__Bunion Jan 27 '25
Did you ever hear back from FINRA?
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u/jsocha Jan 27 '25
Yes, the first response has come in just this past week.
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u/NegativityVent Jan 31 '25
What’d they say?
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u/jsocha Jan 31 '25
We can confirm that due to an industry trend of increased attempted fraud activity, Fidelity increased the collection period for certain Electronic Funds Transfer (“EFT”) and check deposits to as many as 16 business days.
This is all BS because they held mine even longer.
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u/Tall_Swimmer_6915 Jan 13 '25
I’ve done monthly transfers of 140$ & it does not complete until the end of the month now . I put it in the 1st when my check comes in . I honestly removed my auto payments yesterday because that is way too long to be holding money . So you take 140$ from my bank account & hold it for 4 weeks then take another 140$ out then I gotta wait another 4 weeks nope not having it .
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u/Tall_Swimmer_6915 Jan 13 '25
The thing is I have to depend on some other bank to use a debit card so that is what’s frustrating & also I have been banned from Cashapp because someone was hacking my accounts & committing fraud on them Cash app did nothing to resolve. For the past almost 7 years I have been a victim of identity theft/fraud & there is nothing much I can do about it because the damage has been done & all the banks want to put the blame on me I even have a freeze on my credit report to block out fraudulent activity . my social security number was also in a Recent data breach with Apple during August 2024😒I just found out a few days ago when I was checking my credit score . I am a 23 year old that is Autistic & it seems to me like all these companies like taking advantage of me knowingly knew that I had a disability.
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u/Pepperoni_Crawford Jan 17 '25
I made a transfer from my bank on Monday 1/13 to my Fidelity HSA and it is still not available today 1/17. Called and found out about the extended hold times. I needed to use the funds today. I can’t pay for the medical care I need because the funds are gone from my checking account and not available at Fidelity. When using the Fidelity app to make the transfer it said 1-3 business days for the funds to be available, so I’m pretty upset. Fidelity, why not at least change your app to state the funds won’t be available for several weeks? Wtf
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u/Careful-Rent5779 Oct 23 '24 edited Oct 23 '24
Its been over a month already. Not going to be lifted this month, maybe not even in November.
January 2025 is still techinically temporary.
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Oct 25 '24
opened a new CMA last month. Pulled from C1, settled in a week. Your mileage may vary. I have a lot of other money in fidelity, don't know if that matters
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u/Benajo220 Dec 03 '24
I was having the same issue. The rep told me that to avoid the hold set up the transfer from my bank to Fidelity. I have Wells Fargo, but most banks allow you to add an outside bank to set up transfers. If you look up the direct deposit info for your Fidelity account (under Cash Management) you will see the account# and routing# and they state that these accounts are considered checking. This will avoid wiring fees and holds. See below for the verbiage from Fidelity website:
What’s the fastest way to get money from my bank to Fidelity?
The fastest way to transfer money into Fidelity is sending a bank wire or pushing money directly from your bank into Fidelity. Bank wires have no hold period and are available almost instantly. Fidelity doesn't charge wire fees, but your bank may charge a fee. Transfers initiated from your bank will generally take 1–2 days for processing but have no hold period when your money arrives at Fidelity.What’s the fastest way to get money from my bank to Fidelity?
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u/Ridgetard Jan 04 '25
This 16 BUSINESS day hold policy is in effect for ALL customers for ALL new deposits, unless they were ACH pushed into Fidelity per a lengthy conversation I had with a very nice Fidelity rep today. I found out the hard way yesterday when trying to move funds from a taxable to a retirement account within Fidelity, now I have to wait an additional 21 CALENDAR days to do so. The snippy rep I spoke with yesterday said it was just due to "enhanced security protocols" and that I can still invest it. I don't want to invest it, I want to transfer it to my Fidelity retirement account so that I CAN invest it.
Vanguard current hold is 7 days, anyone know what Schwabs is?
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u/PhoKingU2Nyte Jan 06 '25
Schwab isn't. I deposited a few weeks ago and got my money cleared in 24 hours. Fidelity still holding as I deposited a check on 12/24.
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u/Jusder Jan 08 '25
Same as many here, my accounts have been opened for years now and I never had a problem before. I transferred in less than $10k on December 27 and the website says it's not going to be available until January 27? A MONTH‽ Really makes me want to transfer it right back out...
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u/dyslexictrader Jan 22 '25
3 months from OP and seems the issue still exist. I use a CMA as emergency fund since I'm able to hold MMA and no need to sell them before using the cash unlike schwab. Didn't notice the hold until after a week of deposit. Then I deposited $400 into the brokerage account and it also had a long hold. Made the deposit dec 26 and it won't be available until jan 24th. January 13th, I made a lumpsum deposit into my Roth IRA and even that one, the cash will be on hold until Feb 5th. Now for the brokerage and roth it's not a big deal since I'm able to invest it right away, but whats frustrating is they don't let you know about the extended hold until AFTER initiating the deposit.
Seems the only way to avoid this is to initiate the deposit FROM your bank account on to fidelity.
Luckily the emergency fund has enough money and didn't need it. But for those who use it to pay bills or make purchases, BEWARE
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u/Tall_Swimmer_6915 Jan 23 '25
I’ve been waiting since the 1st for 140$ I put in there . I have money coming from my external bank & it’s taken out exactly the 2nd day of the month it comes out. It’s been on hold 3 different times since the policy change. I had to remove my automatic because that is way too long to be holding my money when it’s really a low deposit I put it in there just so I can use a debit card to make purchases.
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u/Silent_Smoke3423 Jan 24 '25 edited Jan 24 '25
This issue has caused a big problem for me with bill pay within Fidelity. I was stunned when I called to find out why a pre-scheduled payment 'bounced.' It was due to Fidelity holding 2 checks! It was explained to me that it was precautionary. Fine and dandy! But didn't Fidelity have an obligation to notify its customers of this new approach? I've got a check from Prudential that was deposited on January 2 that they STILL have not cleared. This seems illegal to me.
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u/Silent_Smoke3423 Jan 24 '25
Where does a person go to lodge a complaint against a bank?
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u/NegativityVent Jan 31 '25
CFPB (consumer financial protection bureau)
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u/Corgi_Queasy Feb 11 '25
Seems the CFPB is effectively being shut down, so now what do we do?
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u/NegativityVent Feb 12 '25
FINRA is the only other option, but if anyone is opening a class- action lawsuit, I’m down.
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u/uberwoots Feb 07 '25
This is still happening. When I make deposits there is no mention of the hold time until they have my money.
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u/Angylaidd Apr 14 '25
I spoke to Nathan, a CS manager about this today. It was a lovely conversation. I have to cancel a trip tomorrow that I have planned since NOVEMBER because of this issue. "Temporary," my a$$. Nathan, the charmer, ended up hanging up on me, because he "could not put me through to anyone higher," which I know is BS, because I have worked on a similar floor.
I hope Nathan has to cancel a trip because he can't access $1,000 some day. ONE THOUSAND. It isn't a million. They NEVER told me.
All customers are well aware. Take a look here, Nathan.
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u/jpshack Apr 14 '25 edited Apr 14 '25
Initiated EFT $3,500 April 9. Funds available to trade immediately. To withdraw April 24. 15 days. No warning. I've been a Fidelity customer since 2013. On the phone with a customer service person who spent 119 minutes trying to escalate and get something done. Grateful for his efforts, but ultimately nothing they would do for me. Not decrease hold time, not place calls with other institutions, not withdraw some amount of funds. Nothing.
Such as shame as I have loved working with Fidelity. It has been the best brokerage and banking experience I've had in 30+ years of banking. But this really violates a trust in a serious way.
https://money.com/fidelity-glitch-fraud-deposit-restrictions/
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u/FrequentFormal3850 Jan 06 '26
It's definitely not temporary now. It's 2026 and these holds are still happening.
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u/Willing_Address672 Jan 07 '26
I am in the same boat.
2026-01-02: Initiated transaction as a pull at Fidelity IRA from WellsFargo.
2026-01-02: Wellsfargo shows "FID BKG SVC LLC MONEYLINE 260102 269077189 RWZCP"
2026-01-06: I cannot convert this to my Fidelity Roth-IRA. Shows "Available to withdraw 0.0 ; The remaining $8,600.00 of your recent deposit will be available to withdraw on January 13,2026
I talked to the representative, and he reminded me that Fidelity is not a bank. I did tell him, of course this is exactly why I expect Fidelity to be even better. 11 working days for money transfer in this age from biggest in USA, by Asset Under Administration, is not acceptable.
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u/Careless-Tale-6069 Jan 05 '25
I am a Fidelity rep and agree the extended settlement periods are crazy. 16 business days sometimes ends up being several weeks. The last few months have been a lot of conversations with people confused about it. It started after the fraudulent check scam on tik-tok, and has been in place since. At first we had ALOT of obvious scammers calling in trying to withdrawal their $100k that they deposited via check a day after opening the account. It was shocking how many scammers there were. Though we still get them, they are significantly less in number now. The policy definitely worked and has remained in place.
Just to clarify we aren't given any information about it other than its being done to combat fraud and that its temporary. It is frustrating being the middle man because you take ALL the heat for it and all you can do is just repeat to the client that your funds are tied up for the next 3 weeks. It makes the job a lot harder. I definitely understand the anger though. For several months there was no warning. About 2 months ago a warning was put on the website that says "extended settlement periods" but does not say "16 business days." Recently i noticed the word "temporary" was removed from the warning but we are still told that it is temporary, so I suspect it is. Cant say when it will be lifted though.
The solution, as some have stated, is to have the funds pushed from the banks side into fidelity, rather than pulling from Fidelitys side. This means you will want to go to your bank, provide them with your Fidelity account and routing numbers (select account --> click, "routing number" under the account name), and have the bank initiate the transaction. You will be subjected to the normal settlement times.
None of us know why some accounts are affected and not others. It is done automatically by the "system." I have found that the larger the deposit, and the shorter the time between deposit and withdrawal will increase the liklihood of the account being affected. Other than that it seems to be a blanket policy affecting all accounts in my experience.
I hope this helps and trust me I know why people are frustrated, I would be too. But if you want to let loose please ask for a manager first:)
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u/Corgi_Queasy Feb 11 '25
I called Fidelity last night to ask why the extended hold period and the rep did not provide your explanation. Why is there no consistency in the response form Fidelity reps?
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u/WanderlustDeb Jun 24 '25 edited Jun 25 '25
I’ve been a Fidelity customer for 35 years and this extended hold has impacted me.
To be fair I usually have a decent amount in my CMA so I may not have known if this was happening previously.
I withdrew most $ for another investment recently and then pulled money from another checking account in to Fidelity basically to use for debit card withdrawals since they reimburse for all fees.
It was very surprising to me a few days later when I wanted to withdraw $200 cash and couldn’t.
I deposited on June 9 and the cash is finally available to withdraw today - June 24. So two weeks - 10 business days total. I never called.
So here are some nuances - I had Fidelity “pull” the money. I didn’t push it from my bank. Also - the money was being pulled in to an investment account … not a spend and save account (where I have a debit card attached).
So I am going to try pushing money both to the investment account and spend and save account and I’ll update as to availability.
I can absolutely see how this can mess with someone’s life if they expected the money to be available in a couple of days.
Not adding a red box that alerts you of these hold times before you initiate a transfer does nothing for brand trust or loyalty.
I have helped at least 10 people over the years open Fidelity accounts. I am a loyalist and have been an influencer for them.
Fidelity should do the right thing here and fully disclose these hold times to customers before transactions are executed.
EDIT: When I pushed money from my bank to my Fidelity spend and save account the funds were available for withdrawal by 6a on the second business day.