A user on TikTok is calling out Bank of America after claiming that they questioned an elderly customer about not using Zelle, a cash transfer service.
In a video with over 593,000 views, TikTok user Dj Lost One (@djlostone), who previously went viral after claiming to have witnessed a woman go $100 over budget on baby formula, alleges that he was at the bank on the first of the month when he witnessed something strange.
According to @djlostone, he was in line at the bank when an elderly woman was greeted by a manager. She told the manager that she was there to pay her mortgage, at which point the manager asked why she did not use Zelle or automatic transfers.
“Miss, this lady is older than dirt and time itself,” the TikToker says. “A sweetheart, but she has no smartphone, does not know how to use computers—you can obviously tell this, and you know why we’re all here, we’re here to make the rent payment, the mortgage payment.”
“And that means, if we’re here in line, we don’t use Zelle, we don’t use automatic deductions,” the TikToker continues. “We have, probably, a bank account number that we go and transfer to, or that we have some type of set up with the teller and they make the payment for us—how we’ve been doing it for decades. OK?”
According to the TikToker, the elderly woman then asked to be left alone, to which the manager responded, “This is why our lines are so huge.”
At this moment, the TikToker claims to have “flipped.”
“So, there’s gonna be a TikTok video about me cursing a manager out. You can go ahead and find it if you like,” @djlostone says.
The veracity of this story is unclear, as the TikToker tells many dramatic stories on his page, the likelihood that a bank manager would recommend Zelle for a mortgage payment (which is typically recommended for transfers amongst friends and family) is low, and, according to Bloomberg in December 2023, only around a third of homeowners 80 and older are still paying off a mortgage.
That said, the video sparked considerable discussion about the elderly and their use of online banking. The U.K.’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) “reported in 2018 that 93% of 25-34-year-olds used internet banking as opposed to 47% of 65-74-olds,” per Suits Me. That said, another survey from Fiserv claimed that “72 percent of U.S. banking consumers age 70 and older say they use online banking,” and “Seventy-four percent of seniors who use online banking said they paid bills online in the past 30 days.”
@djlostone Truly an experience i wont forget! 😡 #thisjusthappened #icantbelieveit #bankofamerica #fypシ #trending #shocking ♬ original sound – Dj Lost One
In the comments section, users shared their thoughts on the TikToker’s story.
“As someone with an 82 year old mother, they like to do their errands to get out of their house and see people,” said a commenter. “Thank you for sticking up for her!”
“No, the lines are huge because they don’t want to pay for payroll to hire more bank tellers,” offered another. “They want to put the work of multiple people on one person.”
“My mom gets dressed up to go pay her bills every month,” stated a third. “She looks forward to getting out and seeing the representatives.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Bank of America and @djlostone via email.