A bug in the Fed’s payment system prevents bank customers from getting paid

Some of the largest US banks were unable to process customer deposits after one of the Federal Reserve's payment systems suffered an outage on November 3.

The Federal Reserve said the error was caused by a “processing issue” in the Automated Clearing House – the payment processing network widely used by banks and employers to deposit paychecks into employee bank accounts.

ACH is operated by the Federal Reserve Banks and the Electronic Payments Network.

Banks stressed that customer accounts “remain secure,” and the Federal Reserve said all services resumed as of 4:44 p.m. UTC.

However, their customers are still complaining about their suffering. One X user, Georgii Godiri, said she still hasn't been paid and can't pay her rent as a result.

hello. Some deposits from 11/3 may be temporarily delayed due to an issue affecting many financial institutions. Your accounts will remain secure, and your balance will be updated as soon as a deposit is received. ^ Adrian

— Bank of America Help (@BofA_Help) November 3, 2023

Another X user, “Des Emoto,” reiterated that funds cannot be safe if they disappear, and suggested that Bitcoin could serve as a solution to the problem at hand.

It is the opposite of safety because the funds are gone. #Bitcoin fixes this.

X user “LashishLizard” also asked if Wells Fargo will pay for late fees charged to them.

“So you're going to pay everyone's late fees, court fees and all the other stuff associated with this BS? Because loan companies, bills, landlords don't want to hear that you don't have one.

Hello, thank you for visiting us. We want to see how we can help. Please send us your full name/zip/phone # and we will be happy to follow up with you. ^ Adrian

— Bank of America Help (@BofA_Help) November 3, 2023

A September CNBC survey found that 61% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, up from 58% in March.

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At 11am UTC on November 3rd, reports of US bank delays began to increase.

Reports from Bank of America peaked at 313 at 15-minute intervals at 4:00 pm UTC, Downdetector said. Chase and Wells Fargo reached similar highs of 279 and 137 during the same time frame.

The Federal Reserve launched FedNow in July, which allows banks and money transfer services to pay instantly without having to rely on ACH.

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