Christmas Day always comes on December 25th, but are the banks open each year? First, let’s start with Christmas Eve. Go Banking Rates reports:
Generally, banks open and close in accordance with Federal Reserve bank holidays. Unlike Christmas Day, Christmas Eve is not a bank holiday recognized by the Federal Reserve, which means it will be open and operating, offering behind-the-scenes support for banks and transactions; this is why most banks will be open on Christmas Eve.
This means that banks are open on Christmas Eve. However, there may be limited hours, so it’s important to check with your local banks. For example, Wells Fargo has noted that its hours will be limited on Christmas Eve. U.S. Bank is another major bank that will have holiday hours on Christmas Eve.
As for Christmas Day, the banks are closed. It is an official public holiday. Go Banking Rates adds:
The stock markets are closed on Christmas and traders won’t be able to do any business that day on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. But some restaurants, shops and movie theaters will open to capture consumers with limited options.
Because the Federal Reserve Bank closes on the holiday, banks don’t have the support they need to facilitate transactions and that is why they close. ATMs and personal online banking will still be available. Note that any bank transfers or transactions made will not go through until the next business day. Banks will resume business hours on December 26, 2015.