Why Your Bank of America Bill Payment Might be On Hold and How to Fix It

Paying bills online through Bank of America’s bill pay service is supposed to be convenient. But sometimes payments end up on hold, which can be stressful and confusing. In this comprehensive guide we’ll look at the common reasons Bank of America might put a bill payment on hold and how you can get the issue resolved so your payment goes through.

What Does “Payment on Hold” Mean?

When you schedule an online bill payment through Bank of America, you expect the money to be deducted from your account and sent to the payee on the date you specified But occasionally, you might see a message that the payment is “on hold” instead of being processed

If the status is “hold,” it means that the payment was not sent to the recipient on the due date. The bank detected something that requires additional verification before releasing the funds. Your account is not debited until the hold is cleared.

Bank of America may put off an online bill payment for the following reasons:

• Insufficient funds in your account
• Suspected fraud or unauthorized access to your account
• Inaccurate payee account information provided
• High-dollar amount exceeding your usual limit
• Required security authentication not completed
• System outage or technical error

Bank of America’s policy is to notify customers via email, phone, or online banking message if they place a payment on hold. But it’s easy to overlook a notification.

How to Release a Bank of America Bill Pay Hold

If you see a payment is on hold, don’t panic Here are some steps to get the hold released so your payment can process

Review notifications – Bank of America should notify you about the hold via email, phone, or online banking message. Check all notifications to understand why it is on hold.

Check your balance – Log into online banking and confirm your account has sufficient funds to cover the held payment amount. Transfer funds if needed.

Verify payee details – Double check the payee name, account number, address and other details entered for the payment. Correct any inaccuracies.

Call customer service – If you can’t determine the reason for the hold, call Bank of America at 800-432-1000 for assistance releasing it.

Authenticate if prompted – Some holds require answering security questions or receiving a verification code on your phone before being released.

Schedule a new payment – If the hold can’t be resolved, cancel it and create a new payment with corrected details.

Visit a branch – For persistent holds, visit a branch and speak to a banker who can contact the back office to release the held payment.

Wait for expiration – If the hold cannot be cleared, it will expire after a maximum of 14 days and the payment will not go through.

With a little perseverance, you can usually get the hold removed within 1-3 business days. Bank of America does not charge a fee for placing a payment on hold.

Why Your Bank of America Payment Might be Held

There are several common triggers that may cause Bank of America to put an online bill payment on hold until the issue is resolved:

Insufficient Funds – If your account balance is too low to cover the payment amount at the time the payment is processed, Bank of America will place the payment on hold due to nonsufficient funds. Simply deposit money to cover the payment.

Suspected Fraud – Unusual activity like hig