HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — The IRS launched a tool Wednesday to allow Americans to check the status of their coronavirus stimulus checks, the distribution of which started last week.
But for many Americans, the new IRS tool did not work, CNBC reports.
The IRS “Get My Payment” tool is meant to help people track the status of their COVID-19 stimulus payments; however, some of those who tried to use the tool Wednesday were given a message which said their payment status was not available, CNBC reports.
IRS spokesperson Luis Garcia told CNBC that this happened because the Get My Payment system was “overloaded.”
“What happened is instead of having an error message or a message saying the system is very busy, it just says your information isn’t in here, that was the default,” Garcia told CNBC. “Just be patient, check back later. If you filed last year’s or this year’s taxes we have your information.”
In a statement to 10 On Your Side, IRS spokesman David Tucker said the site did not crash and was “operating smoothly and effectively.” More than 6.2 million people received their payment status and almost 1.1 million provided banking information by midday Wednesday.
He said when the site volume gets too high, users are sent to an online “waiting room” briefly until space is available for them to access the tool, which tells the user “Status Not Available.”
Before Tucker responded to a request for comment, U.S. Department of Treasury spokesperson Patricia McLaughlin said in an email that the error message could mean that the agency cannot determine a person’s eligibility for a stimulus payment at the time they are checking their payment status.
Tucker confirmed the “Status Not Available” message could mean the user is not eligible for a payment, they did not file their taxes in 2018 or 2019, or they are a SSA or RRB Form 1099 recipient, SSI or VA benefit recipient.
The IRS payment data is only updated once a day, so Tucker said users should not check back more frequently than that.
The IRS website was not the only financial platform that was overwhelmed on Wednesday.
Several banks used by Hampton Roads residents also experienced website issues due to large numbers of customers logging on to check for their COVID-19 stimulus payments and other financial benefits.
10 On Your Side confirmed that PNC users were unable to access their accounts via the bank’s mobile app and care center on Wednesday.
“This is the result of an unprecedented volume of customers using these channels to check their accounts for Economic Impact Payments and other forms of financial hardship relief,” PNC spokesperson Marcey Zwiebel wrote in an email.
Some Navy Federal Credit Union customers also could not access their online banking on Wednesday.
“Navy Federal Credit Union is experiencing high volume through online banking and the mobile app. This is intermittently preventing some members from accessing their accounts. We’re working diligently to restore full service as soon as possible,” the bank said in a statement.
US Bank customers also experienced “intermittent issues” when logging into their accounts. Spokesperson Lee Henderson said the bank is investigating the issue.
Truist Financial Corporation — which includes BB&T and SunTrust banks — confirmed that customers experienced issues accessing their accounts online “due to higher than normal volume.” The company is working to restore services.
