Why are emails from a Google Workspace account dropping, especially to banks?

Key findings

• Authentication baseline: A foundational setup with correct SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records is essential, but it doesn't guarantee delivery to all recipients, especially banks.
• Low volume challenges: For accounts with low sending volume, diagnostic tools like Google Postmaster Tools may not provide sufficient data to identify specific issues, making troubleshooting difficult.
• Bank-specific filtering: Financial institutions often implement highly stringent email security measures and custom blocklists, which can cause legitimate emails to be dropped regardless of general compliance.
• Client-agnostic delivery: The email client used (e.g., Apple Mail vs. Gmail web interface) typically has no impact on server-side delivery decisions or inbox placement.
• Sender location neutrality: Google Workspace generally hides the sender's IP address and physical location, meaning frequent changes in login location should not affect email deliverability.

Key considerations

• DMARC policy review: If emails are going missing, ensure your DMARC policy is set to 'p=none' for monitoring, especially during initial troubleshooting. Learn more about simple DMARC examples.
• Utilize Postmaster Tools V2: The updated Google Postmaster Tools V2 offers lower volume thresholds, potentially providing more actionable insights even for personal accounts. An ultimate guide to Google Postmaster Tools is available.
• Direct IT communication: Actively engage with the bank's IT department to request whitelisting for your domain or specific email addresses.
• Review email authentication: Double-check SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configurations for any misalignments or errors. For more, see Gmail blocking your emails? Here's how to fix it.
• Temporary workarounds: For urgent communications, consider using an alternative, more established email address if all other troubleshooting fails.

Key opinions

• Authentication not a silver bullet: Despite implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, emails from Google Workspace can still drop, especially to specific organizations.
• Blocklist confusion: Standard blacklist checks often report no issues, leading to frustration when emails are still not delivered.
• Data scarcity: Low sending volume can render diagnostic tools like Google Postmaster Tools ineffective due to insufficient data.
• Recipient-specific hurdles: Banks and governmental bodies have unique, often non-standard, email reception requirements that can lead to unexpected delivery failures.
• Practical workarounds: Sometimes, the effort to troubleshoot specific bank delivery issues outweighs the benefit, making a simple switch to a generic Gmail account a pragmatic solution.

Key considerations

• Continuous IT engagement: Maintain communication with the recipient's IT department until confirmation of whitelisting or specific delivery reasons is received.
• Sender reputation history: Investigate the domain's historical sending practices, as past issues could affect current deliverability even after changes. Understand how to improve Gmail domain reputation.
• Targeted testing: Perform specific tests to the problematic recipient domains to gather more precise bounce messages or delivery confirmations.
• Expect variations: Be prepared for different delivery outcomes even when sending from a standard Gmail address to financial institutions, as their filters are often very dynamic.
• Understand blocklists: While public blocklist checks are a good start, private blocklists maintained by organizations can also impact delivery. Learn what an email blocklist is.

Key opinions

• DMARC policy impact: If mail is being lost, an enforcement DMARC policy (even at 10% quarantine) might be contributing to the issue, making a return to 'p=none' advisable for diagnosis.
• DMARC report necessity: Reading and understanding DMARC reports is crucial to verify if email authentication is passing correctly and to diagnose delivery failures.
• Google Postmaster Tools V2: The second version of Google Postmaster Tools has lower volume thresholds, allowing for data visibility even for accounts with minimal sending activity.
• Bank-specific requirements: Banks often have highly specific and sometimes unusual email delivery requirements that can override standard deliverability best practices.
• Nomadic sending is neutral: A sender's frequent changes in physical login location or IP address should generally not affect email deliverability through Google Workspace, as Google manages the sending IPs.

Key considerations

• DMARC record optimization: Clean up DMARC records by removing default flags that add unnecessary bulk, focusing on essential tags for clarity and performance. For example, check DMARC tags and their meanings.
• Prioritize DMARC report analysis: Make analyzing DMARC aggregate and forensic reports a priority to pinpoint authentication failures. See understanding DMARC reports.
• Address underlying issues: Focus on fundamental email authentication and reputation issues before exploring less likely causes like sender location. Many issues can be found in why your emails fail.
• Sender reputation monitoring: Continuously monitor your domain's sender reputation through available tools to catch issues early. A comprehensive guide to Google Postmaster Tools domain reputation can help.

Key findings

• Authentication requirements: Google Workspace emphasizes robust email authentication, including SPF for sender verification, DKIM for message integrity, and DMARC for policy enforcement and reporting.
• Security features: Google Workspace's security features include email spam, phishing, and malware protection, as well as spoofing prevention, which help maintain overall email ecosystem health.
• DMARC policy guidance: Official recommendations suggest starting with a DMARC policy of 'p=none' to monitor traffic before moving to stricter enforcement policies like 'quarantine' or 'reject'.
• Volume thresholds: While Google Postmaster Tools provide valuable insights, some reports may require a minimum sending volume to display data accurately.
• Regulatory compliance: Google Workspace provides features for regulatory compliance, recognizing that certain industries, such as finance, have heightened security and audit requirements.

Key considerations

• Adherence to standards: Ensure your Google Workspace SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are correctly published and aligned with your sending practices. Review a simple guide to DMARC, SPF, and DKIM.
• Monitor DMARC reports: Consistently review DMARC aggregate reports to identify sources of unauthorized email and authentication failures. For more, see how to fix DMARC issues.
• Recipient-side security: Be aware that recipient organizations, particularly in finance, may use advanced email security solutions like Proofpoint, which can apply additional filtering rules beyond standard authentication.
• Account suspension causes: Understand that Google Workspace accounts can be suspended for spam abuse or improper email practices, highlighting the need for good sending habits even for personal use. The Yet Another Mail Merge Blog discusses suspension causes.