Are Banks Open on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day?

Are banks open on New Year’s Eve?

For payments, yes. December 31 is not one of the 11 legal public holidays in 5 U.S.C. 6103, and it is not on the Federal Reserve’s holiday schedule. On a weekday New Year’s Eve, ACH payments, direct deposits and wires settle as on any other business day.

Whether your branch is open, and for how long, is up to your bank, so its own holiday notice is the place to check.

The stock market also trades on New Year’s Eve. The NYSE Group holiday calendar lists no holiday and no early close on December 31 in 2026, 2027 or 2028.

Will direct deposit go through on New Year’s Eve?

A direct deposit dated Thursday, December 31, 2026 can settle that day, because the Reserve Banks are open. Under the Nacha Operating Rules in force since September 18, 2026, the receiving bank has to make a regular ACH credit available by 9:00 a.m. its local time on the settlement date.

The question that matters more is what happens to a payday that falls on New Year’s Day itself. Friday, January 1, 2027 is a closure day, so a payroll dated January 1 cannot settle then. Your employer or payroll provider decides whether to pay on Thursday, December 31 or on Monday, January 4, 2027; that is a company policy, not a Federal Reserve rule. More on this in our guide to direct deposit and payroll on holidays.

When New Year’s Day falls on a Saturday: December 31, 2027

On January 1, 2028, New Year’s Day falls on a Saturday. That is the only weekend New Year’s Day between 2026 and 2032, and it is where the Federal Reserve and the federal government part ways.

• Federal government: offices close on Friday, December 31, 2027. The Office of Personnel Management lists that Friday as the observed New Year’s Day in its 2028 table.
• Federal Reserve: the Reserve Banks and branches stay open on Friday, December 31, 2027. Only the Board of Governors in Washington closes. The Federal Reserve’s schedule lists that Friday as a Board-only closure, in a footnote it corrected on July 8, 2026.
• Stock market: NYSE Group says no New Year’s Day holiday is observed in 2028, so the exchange does not close for it.

For your money, this means ACH and wire payments settle normally on December 31, 2027, even though federal offices are closed and some calendars show it as a holiday. Banks follow their own branch schedule that day. The rule behind this split is explained on our Federal Reserve holidays page.

In the other years through 2032, New Year’s Day falls on a weekday and the Federal Reserve and federal offices close on the same day. The 2031 and 2032 dates are calculated from the statutory rules, because the Federal Reserve has not yet published those years.

Are banks open on New Year’s Day for payments?

On a New Year’s Day closure, payments between banks through the Federal Reserve wait for the next business day. Transfers between two accounts at the same bank may still post, depending on the bank.

• ACH and direct deposit: FedACH does not settle on the holiday. For New Year’s Day 2026, Federal Reserve Financial Services stopped FedACH processing at 11:30 p.m. ET on December 31, 2025 and resumed it at 5:30 p.m. ET on January 1, 2026. As of October 23, 2026, the windows for January 1, 2027 have not been published. See ACH on holidays.
• Wires: the Fedwire Funds Service treats Federal Reserve holidays as non-business days. A wire that misses your bank’s cut-off on Thursday, December 31, 2026 goes out on Monday, January 4, 2027. Details on wire transfers.
• Checks: under Regulation CC, January 1 is not a business day, so it does not count toward a deposit hold. December 31 does count, including December 31, 2027.
• ATMs, debit cards and mobile apps: these are run by banks and card networks, not the Federal Reserve, so a Fed holiday does not switch them off. When a deposit made on the holiday is credited depends on your bank’s cut-off times.
• Instant payments: the FedNow Service runs every day, including holidays. A transfer can arrive on New Year’s Day if both banks offer it. Our payments overview covers the options.

Because January 1, 2027 is a Friday, the closure creates a three-day weekend. Anything that misses Thursday, December 31 settles on Monday, January 4 at the earliest. To count deadlines across the holiday, use the business days calculator.