UPDATED: BB&T Bank Customer Alert: Accounts Zeroed Out, Cards Being Declined

By Tim Martin  

BB&T Bank customers may want to check their accounts. There are customers across the country reporting that their balances are being zeroed out.

Both checking and savings accounts are being affected. According to one source, a customer service representative says the system is going through an update and all money in accounts is locked and safe.

The $0 balance is only showing on smartphone applications and ATMs. If you check your online statement, it will show your true balance.

Representatives say it should be fixed by Sunday morning, but cards are being declined at some locations.

Also remember that the FDIC insures your deposits to up to $250,000. You may be inconvenienced, but your money is safe.

Make sure to check back with NewsBlaze. We will update this story as soon as more information becomes available.

Update

BB&T spokesperson Martha Wallen says in a statement the outage was caused by an internal computer issue that affected access to accounts. The glitch impacted ATM, mobile and online systems.

Customer accounts showed a zero balance, but BB&T says the actual balances were not affected.

BB&T says the outage was repaired within a few hours. BB&T will reverse any fees or charges that may have occurred as a result of this issue.

Other BB&T News

Only four days ago, BB&T recorded a charge for a disputed tax liability. The charge of $281 million in the first quarter will increase the bank's reserves related to the ongoing disputed liability.

The IRS disallowed the bank's foreign tax credits, that were claimed for a transaction. The bank disputes the IRS stance.

The Feb. 11 opinion by the U.S. Tax Court was a case between the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation and the IRS, which involved a transaction which had a structure similar to a financing transaction, that was entered into by BB&T in 2002. BB&T is currently in litigation with the IRS to recover a previous assessment of $892 million.

Tim Martin is a Technology Specialist, Follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/tsmartin75