Bank Holiday vs Public Holiday

A bank holiday is a day when banks are legally or customarily closed. The term comes from the UK's Bank Holidays Act of 1871, which listed the days banks could shut. In most countries, bank holidays and public holidays (general days off work) overlap almost completely, which is why the terms are used interchangeably. A few countries have days where shops open but banks close, or regional holidays observed only in certain states or provinces.

What Stops Working on a Bank Holiday

  • Transfer settlement. Domestic transfers (ACH, SEPA, Faster Payments batches) and international wires do not settle. Instant-payment systems in some countries are the exception.
  • Branch services. Branches close; ATMs and apps keep working, but anything needing a human waits.
  • Payroll and direct debits. Scheduled payments shift to the next business day, which is why salaries sometimes arrive a day early or late around holidays.
  • Markets. Stock exchanges usually follow their country's holiday calendar, though not identically.

The Two-Country Problem

International transfers care about holidays on both ends. A wire from the US to Germany sent on July 3rd meets the US Independence Day holiday on the 4th; one sent to the US from Germany on October 2nd meets German Unity Day on the 3rd. The practical rule: check both calendars and count only days that are business days in both countries. That's exactly what this site is for, alongside verifying the SWIFT code and IBAN before you send.

Moveable Holidays

Many holidays move every year: Easter-based dates (Good Friday, Easter Monday), lunar calendar holidays (Chinese New Year, Eid), and "nth Monday" constructions (Thanksgiving, UK spring bank holiday). This is why a static list goes stale and why our dataset is regenerated every year from maintained rules rather than copied once.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do salaries arrive early before holidays?

Payroll systems shift payments scheduled on a holiday to the previous business day in some countries, and to the next in others. Either way, the holiday calendar is what decides.

Do card payments work on bank holidays?

Yes. Card networks authorize payments every day. Only the settlement between banks pauses, which merchants notice, not shoppers.

Which country has the most holidays?

See our statistics page for the current ranking of countries by nationwide holiday count.