Are Banks Open on Cinco De Mayo 2015?

With the plethora of holidays celebrated in the US, it can often be difficult to know if the holiday affects the hours of businesses. One of the most frustrating things that can happen is to go someplace to find that it’s closed due to a holiday that you may or may not have even realized was taking place. With Cinco de Mayo being celebrated on May 5, some may begin to wonder if businesses such as banks, credit unions, and post offices will keep their regular hours, or if they will be closed for the day.

In 2015, May 5 lands on a Tuesday. The good news is that you should be able to go about as you would any other normal Tuesday, and you shouldn’t see much of an affect to business hours due to the holiday. Cinco de Mayo is not a federal holiday, so most businesses, offices, banks and stores will all stick to their normal Monday business hours.

Many people believe that Cinco de Mayo is celebrated to commemorate Mexico’s independence from Spain, but this is actually not the case. The holiday is celebrated to commemorate the Mexican army defeating France at the battle of Puebla during the Franco Mexican war that took place from 1861 to 1867. It’s actually a fairly minor holiday in Mexico, but it has exploded into a huge celebration of Mexican heritage for those living in the United States. In many cities around the US, there will be festivals, parades and a variety of live performances to celebrate.

Banks

Banks will be open. Since Cinco de Mayo is not a US national holiday, banks will keep their regular business hours on this day. There shouldn’t be any type of disruption if you’re planning to visit your bank on May 5, and any banking you planned to do on this day won’t need to be rescheduled.

Credit Unions

Credit unions will be open. Credit unions, just as the banks, will stick to their normal business hours on this day. If you happen to live in an area where there are large Cinco de Mayo celebrations, you might want to check with your local credit union just to make sure that they don’t close an hour or two early due to the festivities.

Post Offices

Post offices will be open. Since Cinco de Mayo lands on a Tuesday this year, all post offices should be open for business during their regular Tuesday hours. The celebration shouldn’t affect any business that you need to do at your local post office, and mail should be delivered as it usually is.

If you have never participated in a Cinco de Mayo celebration, I would encourage you to take the time to do so if you can. Since the holiday shouldn’t affect your normal Tuesday schedule, get as much done as you can, and enjoy any festivities that are taking place near where you live. Even though it’s not an official holiday in the US, it’s still one that is a lot of fun to participate in and celebrate.

(Photo courtesy of Paul Stein)

Jeffrey Strain

Jeffrey strain is a freelance author, his work has appeared at The Street.com and seekingalpha.com. In addition to having authored thousands of articles, Jeffrey is a former resident of Japan, former owner of Savingadvice.com and a professional digital nomad.