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Start by confirming the account and statement dates. Then compare every listed transaction with your receipts and personal records, check that the opening balance and activity add up to the closing balance, and contact your bank promptly about anything that appears wrong. For covered consumer electronic fund transfers (EFTs), federal rules generally give you 60 days from when the statement showing the alleged error is sent to notify the bank; that deadline does not apply identically to every account or transaction.
What a monthly bank statement tells you
A statement records activity for a defined period; it is not necessarily a snapshot of the money you can spend right now. Authorization holds and posting times can affect available funds, and banks do not all use the same labels for balances. Check the period dates before comparing the statement with activity outside that window.
For accounts covered by Regulation E, a financial institution generally provides a statement for each monthly cycle in which an electronic fund transfer occurs, and at least quarterly when no transfer occurs, subject to exceptions. See the CFPB’s Regulation E § 1005.9.
Confirm the account, dates, and statement pages
- Match the account holder and the account identifier to the account you intend to review.
- Note the statement’s start and end dates. A transaction can appear later than the date you made it because posting and transaction dates may differ.
- Keep the entire statement, including transaction details, fee summaries, and explanations of codes. If sharing a copy, redact the full account number and other sensitive information.
Read the summary balances and totals
Find the opening and closing balances, credits or deposits, debits or withdrawals, and fees. Depending on the account and applicable disclosure rules, the statement may also show interest or fee information. In the covered EFT statement context, Regulation E calls for “the balance in the account at the beginning and at the close of the statement period” (§ 1005.9(b)(4)). A displayed statement balance should not automatically be treated as the current available balance.
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Check each transaction against your records
Compare each entry’s amount and date with receipts, checks, deposit confirmations, transfer confirmations, recurring-payment records, and any register or spreadsheet you maintain. Check both sides of the record: a statement item that you do not recognize and an item in your records that never appears on the statement.
- Look into unfamiliar merchant or payee names, abbreviations, and codes. The statement may show a trading name or a third party’s name; ask the bank to explain an entry you cannot identify.
- Check for duplicate-looking transactions, unexpected fees, deposits credited for a different amount than the receipt, or deposits that are missing.
- Compare dates carefully. A bank’s posting date may differ from the date in your records, particularly near the beginning or end of the statement period.
For covered EFT statements, the rule specifies information such as the transfer amount and date, transfer and account type, applicable terminal location and third-party name, account number, applicable fees, balances, and contact information for inquiries. It does not prescribe a single terminology for transfer types, and information may be combined. The rule also does not require an institution to verify each transfer shown on a periodic statement. A listed transaction is therefore something to check—not, by itself, proof that you authorized it. See the CFPB’s official interpretation of § 1005.9.
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Reconcile the statement balance
Use the statement’s signs and categories to check the arithmetic:
Opening balance + credits − debits − fees = closing balance
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Take care not to subtract a fee twice if the statement already includes it in a debit total. Check that the listed activity belongs to the statement period, and account for items in your personal records that posted only after the period ended. If the figures do not match, find the first unexplained difference and gather its date, amount, and any related receipt or confirmation before contacting the bank.
Reconciliation means comparing the bank’s record with your own and resolving differences. A paper checkbook register, spreadsheet, or financial software you already use can help you keep your side of the comparison complete. A register is optional; it cannot establish whether a transaction was authorized or correct.
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What to do if an entry may be wrong
- Use the bank’s statement contact channel. Follow the inquiry or error-reporting instructions printed on the statement and any account-specific directions in your deposit agreement.
- Explain the suspected error clearly. Identify yourself and the account, describe why you believe there is a problem, and provide the transaction type, date, and amount if known.
- Keep a record. Note when you reported it and retain copies of written notices, receipts, confirmations, and the bank’s response. The OCC recommends written notice and keeping a copy. If you report orally, Regulation E permits a bank in some cases to ask you to confirm the report in writing.
For covered consumer EFTs, Regulation E’s definition of an error includes unauthorized or incorrect transfers, omitted transfers, certain institution computational or bookkeeping errors relating to EFTs, incorrect cash received at a terminal, certain inadequate descriptions, and requests for relevant documentation or clarification. The CFPB’s Regulation E § 1005.11 generally requires the bank to receive notice within 60 days after it sends the statement on which the alleged error first appears. Applicability and procedures depend on the account and transaction; do not assume this EFT rule governs checks, business accounts, or every bank dispute. The OCC’s consumer pages, last reviewed in April 2021, also advise consumers with an EFT statement error to contact the bank and keep written records: OCC guidance on EFT statement errors.
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