Bank of America Outage Leaves Thousands Seeing $0 Balances, Sparks Panic Across US

Bank of America faced a major digital outage on Friday night, leaving thousands of customers across the United States temporarily unable to access their funds.

Users flooded social media with complaints that their balances had vanished, with some alleging their accounts were showing '$0' or displaying outdated information.

According to outage-tracking website Downdetector, user reports began spiking around 7:17 pm EST. At the height of the disruption, more than 3,000 users reported problems with Bank of America's app and website.

Around 88% of the complaints involved mobile banking, while 10% concerned login issues. The affected areas included Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles and Chicago.

'Bank of America is down bad @BankofAmerica, app and desktop showing all my balances as ZERO,' one customer wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Another user said: 'And just like that, Bank of America is experiencing a nationwide outage.' A third commented: 'The Bank of America app is really carrying right now omg. It's a glitch and it's showing the wrong balance...'

Customers Report 'Vanishing' Funds

Several users on Downdetector said their account balances were showing data from previous business days. 'Logging in shows previous day's balances. Can't transfer or Zelle,' one person complained. Another wrote: 'Balance on the mobile app is showing the previous business day and calling tells me I have a zero balance.'

Some customers reported that their debit and credit cards were also failing at checkout. A Virginia user said: 'Cards not working here either. It's 6 pm EST and still nothing.' Others shared screenshots of an error message allegedly from Bank of America's app reading: 'Temporarily unable to display some accounts and/or latest balances. We're working to resolve this issue quickly.'

The incident quickly trended on social media, with frustrated customers tagging the bank's official account and demanding answers. 'Bank of America please fix your system it is down. RIGHT WHEN THE DAY ENDS AND I GOTTA HOP ON A FLIGHT for holiday. Gotta love it,' one user posted.

Bank Says 'Funds Are Safe'

Bank of America has not issued a detailed public statement about the cause of the outage, but a company representative told several users online that the problem was a 'display error', assuring customers that no money had been lost. The issue appeared to affect account visibility rather than balances themselves.

'Your funds are safe,' one Bank of America response read. 'Some clients are temporarily unable to view certain account information. We're aware and working to resolve it as quickly as possible.'

By midnight EST, the majority of reports appeared to have subsided, although sporadic complaints continued from users still unable to refresh their balances.

Growing Digital Banking Dependence

The glitch comes amid increasing reliance on mobile banking platforms, which now handle millions of daily transactions. Bank of America's mobile app, one of the largest in the US, allows customers to review balances, deposit cheques, transfer funds and pay bills.

According to the bank, it serves over 67 million consumer and small business clients nationwide.

Outages of this kind often trigger waves of anxiety because of the immediacy of digital banking access, especially during weekends when physical branches are closed.

For some users, the sudden zero balances evoked memories of similar incidents in past years, when temporary display errors caused confusion over deposits and withdrawals.

'It's scary because everything's digital now,' one user posted on Reddit. 'Even if they say it's a glitch, seeing your account at zero makes your heart stop.'

Public Reaction

Many users, while reassured that their funds were safe, criticised the bank for its lack of timely communication. 'It's 2025 — a nationwide banking app outage should not be met with silence,' one customer wrote. Others urged Bank of America to issue text alerts or real-time notifications whenever widespread disruptions occur.

Despite the panic, analysts said such outages are usually caused by server-side updates or temporary connectivity issues, rather than data breaches. By late on Friday night EST, many customers reported their balances were back to normal.

Still, the incident highlights the fragility of modern digital banking systems and the swift, viral reactions they can provoke.

'Bank of America's outage shows how quickly trust can be tested in the digital age,' one financial expert posted. 'Even a harmless glitch becomes a crisis when millions depend on a screen to tell them their money exists.'