Your bank account number is not something that you want the whole world to know. But shouldn't your bank know what it is?
I recently discovered that my bank, Bank of America, doesn't know my account number.
I was creating an account at TreasuryDirect.gov — the Department of Treasury's website for buying bonds — and needed to enter my bank account information.
This isn't the kind of thing I have memorized, so I logged into my Bank of America account. First, I needed the routing number, so entered "routing number" into the search box and up popped the correct digits (this part they got right).
Then I needed my account number so I entered "account number." The screen showed my "full account number" as a 21-digit number with 12 leading zeroes. Something like this: 000000000000123456789
I had uneasy feeling that this wasn't right; it was too long. Why were there so many zeroes? But this was my bank and, I thought, perhaps in the mysterious world of banking this number was actually correct. And, of course, my bank would know my account number, right? So I entered the number into the TreasuryDirect form.
The next day, I got a message from TreasuryDirect saying there was a problem with my bank account information. A little investigation showed that there was an error in my account number. There were too many zeroes. Nine too many to be exact.
Even worse, it's not an easy matter to fix. TreasuryDirect won't let you correct the account number online. You have to fill out a six-page form, have it signed by a bank official, and mail it in.
Thanks a lot, Bank of America.
