Are Banks Open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?

Is Christmas Eve a bank holiday?

Not for the Federal Reserve. Federal law lists “Christmas Day, December 25” among the legal public holidays in 5 U.S.C. 6103, but December 24 is not on that list, and it is not on the Federal Reserve’s holiday schedule. Branch hours are each bank’s decision, but for payments December 24, 2026 is an ordinary settlement day:

• ACH payments and direct deposits dated Thursday, December 24 settle that day.
• Federal Reserve Financial Services lists FedACH processing for the holiday as ending at 11:30 p.m. ET on December 24 and resuming at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 27, according to its holiday schedule page. In other words, the regular Christmas Eve processing runs before the pause begins.
• Fedwire runs its normal hours, with a 6:45 p.m. ET Federal Reserve cut-off for customer transfers, according to the Fedwire operating hours. Your bank’s cut-off for wire requests is earlier, so check it before sending an urgent wire.

The stock market is open on December 24, 2026, but closes early at 1:00 p.m. ET, according to the NYSE Group holiday calendar. That early close does not apply to Federal Reserve payment systems.

When the president closes federal offices on Christmas Eve

A president can give federal employees extra days off around Christmas by executive order. That does not change the Federal Reserve’s schedule. In December 2025, Executive Order 14371 closed executive departments and agencies on Wednesday, December 24 and Friday, December 26, 2025. The Kansas City Fed announced that all Federal Reserve Banks would be “open and operational” on both days. If a similar order is issued for 2026, look for the Federal Reserve’s own notice before assuming payments stop.

Christmas on a Saturday: 2027 and 2032

When December 25 falls on a Saturday, the Federal Reserve and the federal government handle Friday, December 24 differently.

• 2027: Christmas Day is Saturday, December 25. Federal offices are closed on Friday, December 24, 2027, the observed holiday, according to OPM. The Reserve Banks are open that Friday; the Federal Reserve’s schedule notes that only the Board of Governors closes. ACH and Fedwire payments settle normally. The NYSE, by contrast, is closed that day.
• 2032: Christmas Day again falls on a Saturday, with the same split on Friday, December 24, 2032. The 2032 dates are calculated from the statutory rule and the Federal Reserve’s weekend rule, because the Federal Reserve has not published that year yet.

So in 2027, “the banks are closed on December 24” is true for federal offices and the stock market, but not for payment settlement. Whether your branch opens that Friday is your bank’s decision.

In 2028 Christmas Day falls on Monday, December 25, a regular closure, and Christmas Eve is a Sunday. More on how the Federal Reserve treats weekend holidays is on our Federal Reserve holidays page.

Are banks open on December 26?

December 26 is not a Federal Reserve holiday and not a federal holiday under 5 U.S.C. 6103, so when it falls on a weekday the Reserve Banks are open and payments settle. In 2026 it is a Saturday, so the next settlement day after Christmas is Monday, December 28. In 2028, 2029, 2030 and 2031 it falls on a weekday and is a regular business day.

Branch hours on the 26th are up to each bank. As the 2025 example shows, federal offices can close on December 26 while the Reserve Banks stay open.

What happens to payments on Christmas Day

• ACH and direct deposit: No FedACH settlement on December 25, 2026. Payments resume settling on Monday, December 28. See ACH payments.
• Wire transfers: Fedwire observes Federal Reserve holidays and weekends, so a wire requested on Christmas Day 2026 goes out on Monday, December 28. More on wire transfers.
• Checks: If Christmas Day is not a banking day for your bank, Regulation CC lets it treat a check deposited that day as received on the next banking day.
• ATMs, cards and mobile: Banks and card networks run these, not the Federal Reserve, so a Fed holiday does not switch them off. Deposits made over the long weekend are credited according to your bank’s cut-off times.
• Instant payments: The FedNow Service has “a 24-hour business day each day of the week, including weekends and holidays.” A FedNow transfer can arrive on Christmas Day if both banks offer it. See instant payments.

Will my direct deposit arrive on Christmas Eve?

In 2026, if your pay date is Thursday, December 24, the deposit can settle that day, because the Reserve Banks are open. Since September 18, 2026, the Nacha Operating Rules require the receiving bank to make a regular ACH credit available by 9:00 a.m. its local time on the settlement date.

The pay date that is affected is Friday, December 25, 2026. That payroll can’t settle on Christmas Day, and the following Saturday and Sunday are not settlement days either, so the employer chooses Thursday, December 24 or Monday, December 28. Which day becomes payday is the employer’s or payroll provider’s decision, and their file deadlines come before the Federal Reserve’s. In 2027, a payday on Friday, December 24 can settle normally. Our direct deposit page explains how payroll shifts around holidays.

Sending payroll or vendor payments over the holidays? Our year-end payment deadlines for 2026 list the last settlement days and cut-offs from Christmas to New Year’s.

Frequently asked questions

Is mail delivered on Christmas Eve?

The U.S. Postal Service lists Christmas Day among its postal holidays, the days its holiday page describes as having no mail service. Christmas Eve is not on that list for 2026.

Are December 24 and 26 federal holidays?

Not by law. 5 U.S.C. 6103 lists only December 25 in that week. December 24 becomes the federal government’s observed Christmas holiday when Christmas falls on a Saturday, as in 2027 and 2032, and a president can close federal offices on the 24th or 26th by executive order, as happened in 2025. Neither closes the Reserve Banks: they are open on December 24, 2027, and they stayed open on both days of the 2025 executive-order closure. For a quick check on any given day, see are banks open today.