October 28 is the last chance for investors to purchase I Bonds earning 9.62% interest rate. Yet the surge in demand for inflation-adjusted bonds has stifled the Treasury Direct site and the Treasury Department. said he could not guarantee that orders would be completed on time.
Many investors have managed to beat the clock and tech problems. As of 4 p.m. ET, the Treasury said approximately 69,000 accounts had been created, with more than $710 million in I Bonds purchased on Friday alone. The Treasury said this has brought this week’s I Bond sales so far to about $3.4 billion. Five thousand new accounts were created per hour on Friday, the Treasury said.
Michael Erat and his wife, Linda Erat, were among the thousands who achieved success.
After eight hours of wrestling with the Treasury Direct website, Mr. Erat bought the $10,000 I Bond share.
“It was an eight-hour struggle,” said Mr. Erat, who lives in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Woman. Erat managed to make the purchase in about half of her husband.
Others still have not been able to access the Treasury Direct site or sign in to their accounts to purchase I Bonds. The interest rate is expected to decrease to approximately 6.47% as of November. 1, when the new figure is announced.
Safe, stop Series I savings bonds adjusted for inflation most years do not capture much of the investment spot. They’re the debuting stars of 2022 inflation has reached its peak in forty yearsmarkets fell and investors looked for a safe place to park their money.
With the deadline approaching this week to achieve the 9.62% rate, the government’s TreasuryDirect siteIt has become one of the most visited federal websites, the only place where investors can buy I Bonds directly, and has experienced intermittent outages for several days this week, officials said.
However, many investors continue to face difficulties in accessing and logging into the site.
Todd Miller, who lives in Camarillo, California, was unable to unlock his Treasury Direct account. He has been trying to get help for several days, calling the site’s help number and waiting for more than two hours. I was told on Friday by a customer service representative that due to system outages, he would not be able to unlock his account in time to achieve the 9.62% I Bond rate.
“I think the government should extend the deadline for this sale,” he said. Miller.
“We tripled the capacity of Treasury Direct in the last day and continued to see customers creating successful accounts and buying bonds at record levels. Additional updates to the Treasury Directive, such as the delay in the last days of the price window until November 10. Treasury Spokesperson, 1 He said that the interest rate change would pose a significant risk to the operational integrity of the system.
“Due to unprecedented requests for new accounts, we cannot guarantee that customers will be able to complete a current 9.62% purchase by October. 28 deadline. The Treasury Direct system has processed and continues to process completed payments,” said a spokesperson.
If a customer receives confirmation that the purchase was made or completed by October 11:59:59 PM ET. A spokesperson said the payment will be processed after 28 days.
The Treasury Department said Friday it will take the Treasury Direct account management system offline on Saturday and Sunday for planned maintenance.
“The maintenance period will allow Treasury Direct to successfully process unprecedented volumes of I bond purchases over the past 24 hours,” the Treasury said on its website.
The Treasury said customers who complete their purchase of I Bonds before the scheduled maintenance begins will receive 9.62% for six months.
TreasuryDirect will reopen on Monday, October for account creation and purchases. From Monday, 31st, purchases will be made at the rate that will be published on Tuesday, November. 1, said the Treasury.
Users regularly take to social media to complain about the Treasury Direct website, and sometimes go long distances To make I Bond purchases.
“The Treasure Direct website is not known for being user-friendly,” said Elliot Pepper, a financial planner in Baltimore.
It’s not just people trying to buy Bonds who are frustrated by site outages.
Investors cannot buy or use Bonds, Treasury bills or bonds through the Treasury Directive if they are unable to access or login to the site due to high demand.
Write to Veronica Dagher at: Veronica.Dagher@wsj.com
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