Where's Your $1,400 Stimulus Check? Payment Dates Vary by Bank

Social media feeds are stuffed this week with posts from Americans who have already gotten — and in some cases, spent — their latest coronavirus stimulus check. Fun to see, yes, but annoying if you're still waiting on your own $1,400.

By now, you probably know that people with direct deposit information on file with the IRS tend to receive stimulus payments first. (The rest of the funds have to be mailed out as paper checks and debit cards, which takes longer.) But different banks are telling customers different dates for when to expect those deposits, leading to confusion over when, exactly, you can expect your Economic Impact Payment to arrive.

Will you be celebrating St. Patrick's Day with an extra $1,400? Here's what you need to know.

When is the third stimulus check coming?

According to an IRS news release, the official payment date for the third stimulus check is this Wednesday, March 17. However, it also said "some Americans may see the direct deposit payments as pending or as provisional payments in their accounts before" then.

The distinction lies in how each banking institution processes the deposits.

In general, smaller online banks have been moving faster than big ones. Chime, a San Francisco-based upstart, tweeted an emoji-laden "stimmy alert" on Friday afternoon boasting that it had already made $600 million available to some 250,000 members. Current, another online-only bank, said it was "crediting payments as soon as we receive them for everyone."

When will your bank post the stimulus check?

It varies. Check your bank's website for details or scroll through this Reddit thread to see anecdotal data. Here's a sample of what some of the major financial institutions have said about their direct deposit dates for the third stimulus.

Ally: "We don’t know when payments will be sent to customer’s accounts. When the payment is received, it will be posted to their account and the funds will be available."

Bank of America: "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has stated that payments will be distributed to eligible individuals over multiple weeks."

Capital One: "Funds from Economic Impact Payments made through direct deposit will be available for customers to access on the effective date [Wednesday] as long as the account is open and there are no restrictions on the account."

Cash App: "Cash App customers with account and routing numbers on file with the IRS began receiving a third set of stimulus payments from the U.S. Treasury Department on March 12th."

Chase: "We expect most of the electronic payments to be available as soon as Wednesday, March 17, 2021. Please go to the IRS site for the latest information."

Fifth Third Bank: "We expect ACH stimulus deposits to start as soon as March 17. We will be providing the stimulus payments as they are provided to us from the IRS."

H&R Block: "All stimulus payments to the H&R Block Emerald Prepaid Mastercard® will be processed as they are received. This first batch will be deposited on clients’ Emerald Cards by March 17."

PNC: "Most PNC customers who have direct deposit set up through the Internal Revenue Service and are eligible to receive a government stimulus payment under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 can expect to begin receiving the funds beginning March 17, 2021. However, not all customers [will] receive stimulus payments from the U.S. Treasury at the same time."

Santander: "Based on the information we currently have available, the first payments are expected to be credited by end of day on Wednesday, March 17, 2021 if you've qualified for a payment and the IRS has your Direct Deposit information."

USAA: "We'll process payments as soon as we receive them, starting as early as March 16."

Wells Fargo: "Wells Fargo will process all of the direct deposits according to the effective date provided by the U.S. Treasury [Wednesday] ... The U.S. Treasury has indicated that payments will be distributed in multiple phases and could take several weeks to distribute, so not everyone will receive payments at the same time."

Can you track the new stimulus check?

Yes. The IRS's Get My Payment tool, which updated over the weekend, allows you to do just that. You can submit your information here to find out what your stimulus payment date is and the form it'll come in.

If Get My Payment returns a message that says "Payment Status Not Available," it means you either don't qualify for the third stimulus or the IRS hasn't yet processed your check. If it says "Need More Information," it tried to send your money but there was a problem with delivery.

That said, even Get My Payment nods to the wide range of payment dates. Though the first cache of this round of stimulus checks has already gone out, it notes that "additional batches of payments will be sent in the coming weeks by direct deposit and through the mail as a check or debit card."

Bottom line: Try to be patient. Your $1,400 is (probably) on the way.

More from Money:

Here's Why You Didn't Get Your Payment Yet or Can't Track Its Status

Who Qualifies for a $1,400 Stimulus Check? Eligibility Rules Explained

Can the IRS Take Back Your $1,400 Payment? 7 Stimulus Check Myths, Debunked