Some 529 plans impose a 10–15 day (or even 30-day) hold when linking a new bank account before you can withdraw to that account. We get it, waiting isn’t ideal, especially if a tuition deadline is coming up.
This hold is a one-time restriction for newly added bank accounts. Once your 529 plan has linked and verified your Backpack account, future payments won’t have the same delay.
Here’s the good news, to help in the meantime, here's what you should do:
1. Use Your Existing Bank Account
If you don’t want to wait, you can:
Withdraw funds from your 529 plan to your personal bank account that’s already linked to the 529 plan.
Then use Backpack’s “Add Money” > “Bank Transfer” option to move the funds into your Backpack account and pay just like you would through any payment portal using a bank account.
2. Create a Tuition Payment in Backpack
Backpack and its partner schools allow you to set up a tuition payment even before the funds arrive.
This lets the school know a payment is on the way.
The payment can stay in a “Pending” state for up to 20 days, giving you time to link your 529 and wait out the hold period before withdrawing funds.
Your school gives you these extra days because (1) they really want to stop receiving checks from 529 plans and (2) to help give you more time to complete linking your 529 plan, if you only want to withdraw directly to it.
Either approach works, choose what gives you the most peace of mind.