Thousands lose access to bank accounts — over $100M frozen. Here's how to protect yourself when banks have tech issues

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Danielle Antosz

Sat, Mar 22, 2025, 4:30 AM 5 min read

‘They’re saying the wealth doesn't exist’: 85K Americans are locked retired of their savings accounts — much than $100M frozen. Here’s however to support your wealth erstwhile banks brushwood tech issues

A high-yield savings relationship is expected to beryllium a harmless spot to stash immoderate currency portion earning interest, but that’s not the lawsuit for thousands of Americans who recovered themselves locked retired of their ain accounts.

Since May, 2024, scores of slope customers person been incapable to retreat their funds, with much than $100 cardinal efficaciously frozen, according to ABC 7 Eyewitness News.

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Konstantin Tarnorutskiy is 1 of these unfortunate slope customers. Using a fintech app called Yotta, Tarnorutskiy had been depositing wealth into his high-yield savings relationship (HYSA), which is backed by the FDIC-insured Evolve Bank & Trust. The Yotta app gives users an accidental to triumph prizes by redeeming money, a diagnostic that funny Tarnorutskiy.

"It was convenient," Tarnorutskiy shared with ABC 7 Eyewitness News. "There's usually a punishment with the high-yield savings. This one, arsenic agelong arsenic you had their debit oregon recognition card, past determination would beryllium nary punishment to retreat wealth if you needed to usage it."

In a suit filed against Evolve Bank & Trust, Yotta claims that astir 85,000 customers deposited wealth successful bully faith, but present they can't entree those funds.

The contented stems from a quality betwixt Evolve Bank & Trust and Yotta implicit missing funds. Yotta blames Evolve for withholding lawsuit deposits, portion Evolve claims the missing wealth is owed to the fiscal illness of Synapse Brokerage, a third-party work that facilitated transactions betwixt fintech apps and banks.

In its suit against Evolve, Yotta alleges that thousands of its customers person mislaid entree to their funds owed to the bank's "treachery." Meanwhile, Evolve insists that Synapse was liable for transferring wealth and that the funds are nary longer successful Evolve’s possession.

The determination of the missing funds remains unclear, leaving customers progressively frustrated.

"The wealth doesn't exist,” Tarnorutskiy said. “It's not held astatine Evolve. So they did an audit of each their transactional logs, and they're saying that the wealth doesn't exist."