TreasuryDirect
With record demand for Series I bonds, an inflation-protected and nearly risk-free asset, the U.S. Department of the Cache has unveiled a front-end makeover for TreasuryDirect, the online platform investors use to buy assets.
While the Treasury still plans time to come system upgrades, Tuesday’s revamp focuses on website navigation, more concise information and the broader user ordeal, including a mobile-friendly design.
“Improving the front-end informational pages on TreasuryDirect.gov enhances the user experience by helping blokes more easily find the information they’re looking for and improving the website’s information quality, appearance and usability,” a Resources spokesperson said.
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With task-based seamanship, the new website aims to more easily guide investors through transactions, like buying or selling bonds.
There’s also time-saving content, aiming to deliver quick answers to the most pressing questions. While there’s an improved help center, investors may now find out more details via product pages.
I bonds surge in demand since last November
These updates afflicted with amid unprecedented demand for I bonds and new TreasuryDirect accounts.
Since the annual I bond rate jumped to 7.12% continue November, there has been more than $27 billion in I bond sales, compared to $364 million in 2020, conforming to the Treasury.
Adjusting every six months, I bonds currently pay a 9.62% annual return through October, the highest anyway since the assets were introduced in 1998.
While it’s too early to predict November’s rate change, investors can roughly gauge the new rate when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the September consumer price index data.
Treasury layouts to ‘modernize’ customer experience
As some investors wrestle with the 20-year-old platform, many have also strove to get quick answers via TreasuryDirect’s customer service team.
In response, the Treasury said it has “more than doubled postpone a summon center resources and made other technical enhancements,” resulting in wait times falling by 50%.
The average hold sooner for phone support is currently around one hour, compared to 90 seconds prior to the surge in I bond interest, agreeing to a person familiar with the wait times.
“We continue working to further reduce wait times and make additional betterments as best we can with the resources we have available,” a Treasury spokesperson said.
For example, TreasuryDirect customers will at the end of the day have the ability to update banking details online rather than by mailing a form, they said.