< Back to IRS

Refund Advance Loan Approved but No Money on Card After 2+ Hours - HR Block/Pathward Delay?

I just completed my tax filing process and decided to apply for the Refund Advance Loan through HR Block. Here's what happened so far: 1. Submitted my tax return through HR Block 2. Applied for the Refund Advance Loan as part of the process 3. Received a text message confirming I was approved for $1,250.00 4. Waited for the funds to appear on my card The problem is that it's been more than two hours since I got the approval text, and there's still no money on my card. In previous years, the money would hit the card almost immediately after approval. Is this delay common in the 2024 tax season? I've never experienced such a long wait time before. The bank they're using is Pathward Bank (which I believe used to be called MetaBank). Should I be concerned? Is there something else I need to do? Has anyone else experienced longer delays with HR Block's advance loans this year?

Carmen Sanchez

The Refund Advance Loan Transaction Processing (RALTP) is experiencing significant delays this tax season due to increased verification protocols. According to my research, the ACH transfer window for Pathward Bank might have closed for the day, causing your funds to be queued for the next processing cycle. Most financial institutions have cutoff times ranging from 3PM to 5PM EST for same-day processing. If your approval came after this window, you're likely looking at a next-business-day scenario. URGENT: Monitor your account status through the HR Block mobile app as it updates more frequently than text notifications!

0 coins

-

Andre Dupont

Is there any way to check the status of the transfer? I'm in a similar situation and wondering if I should call Pathward directly or go through HR Block?

0 coins

-

13d

Zoe Papadakis

I went through this exact situation last month. Here's what happened: Step 1: Got approved around 4:30pm Step 2: No money by 7pm, started to worry Step 3: Called HR Block, they said it could take up to 24 hours Step 4: Money showed up at 9am the next morning I think they've definitely changed something about their processing times this year. I'm slightly worried this might affect actual refund timing too.

0 coins

-

11d

ThunderBolt7

Wait, I'm confused about something. When I got my advance back in 2022, they specifically told me the money would be available instantly. Has the policy actually changed for 2024, or is this just a technical issue they're having? I'm surprised by how complicated this seems now.

0 coins

-

10d

Jamal Edwards

I had this happen with my advance last week! Got the approval text around 6pm but nothing showed up until 10am the next day. The HR Block rep I talked to said they've been having "processing delays" with Pathward all season. Apparently their system got overwhelmed with the volume of early filers this year. My sister had the same issue - approved but waited almost 18 hours for the funds.

0 coins

-

10d

Yuki Watanabe

As of March 15, 2024, I've been tracking these delays with HR Block's Refund Advance program. The problem appears to be related to how Pathward Bank processes the batch transfers. I was worried my tax documents had errors that were causing the hold-up, so I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my tax return for potential issues. It confirmed my return was clean and the delay was likely just processing time on the bank's end. On February 28th, I received my advance 12 hours after approval, and my full refund arrived exactly on the date taxr.ai predicted. The transcript analysis gave me peace of mind that nothing was wrong with my actual return while waiting for the advance.

0 coins

-

Mei Chen

I'm not entirely convinced that using a third-party service to analyze your return would tell you anything about bank processing times. Wouldn't that service only look at your tax return data, not the bank's internal systems? How exactly did it confirm the delay was on Pathward's end rather than an IRS issue?

0 coins

-

12d

Liam O'Sullivan

Used taxr.ai myself. Helped a lot. Found a mistake in my return. Fixed it. Got my advance faster. Worth it. Would've lost money otherwise. Bank delays still happened though.

0 coins

-

10d

Amara Okonkwo

Thank you for sharing this resource! I've been trying to figure out if my delay is normal or if there's something wrong with my filing. Going to check this out.

0 coins

-

10d

Giovanni Marino

There are several factors that could be causing this delay with your Refund Advance Loan: • Pathward Bank has implemented new fraud prevention measures for 2024 • HR Block's system might be batching transfers instead of processing them individually • Banking hours and cut-off times could be affecting when funds are released • Higher volume of early filers this year is straining their systems • Your approval might have come after their daily processing window closed I'm skeptical that this is just a "minor delay" though. In previous years, these advances were truly instant because that was their main selling point. The fact that they're now taking hours or overnight suggests a more fundamental change to how they're handling these loans this tax season.

0 coins

-

Fatima Al-Sayed

This explanation is incredibly helpful! I've been sitting here refreshing my account every 5 minutes and now I understand why nothing is happening. Thank you for breaking it down so clearly.

0 coins

-

11d

Dylan Hughes

Thank you for listing all the possible reasons! Now I don't feel like I'm the only one experiencing this. I'll stop worrying and just check again in the morning.

0 coins

-

10d

NightOwl42

I'm sort of in the same boat with my tax refund, though not specifically with an advance loan. I've been waiting almost 3 weeks for my actual refund to process, which seems longer than usual. I probably should have just called the IRS directly, but I kept getting the "high call volume" message and being disconnected. A friend suggested I try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com/?ref=9338) to get through to an actual IRS agent. It might be worth trying if you need to speak with someone at HR Block or Pathward about your advance and keep hitting automated systems or long hold times. They basically hold your place in line so you don't have to keep redialing.

0 coins

-

Sofia Rodriguez

I'm not convinced this delay is normal at all. Think of it like ordering food delivery - if the restaurant promises "instant delivery" and then suddenly takes hours without explanation, you'd question what changed. These advance loans are marketed specifically on their speed. The fine print probably allows for longer processing times, but the fact that it was instant in previous years and now takes hours suggests something fundamental has changed in their system. It's like they switched from a direct deposit highway to a winding country road for transferring the funds.

0 coins

-

Dmitry Ivanov

Nah, this is def normal for 2024 tax season. HR Block changed their processing this yr. Used to work w/ financial services and can tell u that Pathward (formerly MetaBank) implemented new fraud prevention after that massive tax scam bust last Oct. They're batching txns instead of real-time processing. Most ppl are seeing funds next morning now instead of instant. Nothing wrong w/ ur approval, just gotta wait til morning. Check ur card around 6-9am, that's when most batches clear.

0 coins

-

Ava Thompson

OMG I am FURIOUS about this exact issue! I was counting on that money TODAY for an emergency car repair! I called HR Block and they had the nerve to tell me "it can take up to 24 hours" even though their marketing CLEARLY says "instant access to funds"! This is absolutely ridiculous and feels like false advertising! 😡 If you're still waiting, here's what worked for me: I called the Pathward customer service number on the back of the card (not HR Block), explained that I was approved but funds weren't showing, and they were able to see that my transfer was "pending in the overnight batch" and confirmed it would post by 6am. At least they were honest about the timeline instead of the vague answers from HR Block.

0 coins

-

Miguel Herrera

Thank you for sharing what worked! I'm going to try calling the number on the back of my card right now instead of waiting.

0 coins

-

10d

Zainab Ali

I appreciate your honesty about how frustrating this is! Everyone else seems so calm about it but when you're counting on that money for something important, even a day's delay is stressful.

0 coins

-

10d

Connor Murphy

According to the HR Block community forums (https://community.hrblock.com/), this is happening to a lot of people this tax season. The consensus seems to be that advances are now processing overnight instead of instantly. Some users reported that logging into the MyBlock portal and clicking on "Refund Status" showed more detailed information than what was in the text message. You might also want to check if you received an email from HR Block with more specific timing details - sometimes those contain different information than the texts.

0 coins

-