Bug in Fed’s payment system prevents bank customers from getting paid

Some of the largest banks in the United States are unable to facilitate customer deposits after one of the Federal Reserve's payment systems suffered an outage on November 3.

The Federal Reserve saying The error was caused by a "processing issue" in the Automated Clearing House, a payment processing network widely used by banks and employers to deposit salaries into employees' bank accounts.

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

Banks emphasized that customer accounts “remain secure” and the Federal Reserve says all its services resumed at 4:44 p.m. UTC time.

However, customers still complain about the terrible experience. One X user, Georgiaree Godrey, says she still hasn't been paid and, as a result, she can't pay her rent.

Another X user, “Des Imoto,” reiterated that funds cannot be safe if they are missing and suggested that Bitcoin serves as a solution to the problem at hand.

“It is the opposite of insurance because the funds are lacking. #Bitcoin solves this.”

X user “LashishLizard” too asked Wells Fargo would pay any late fees imposed on them.

“So, you're going to pay the late fees, court fees, and everything else associated with this nonsense? Because credit companies, bills, and landlords don't want to hear that you don't have it.”

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

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Reports of US bank outages began to increase around 11 am UTC time on November 3.

Reports from Bank of America reached a high of 313 in a 15-minute interval at 4:00 pm UTC time, according to Downdetector. Chase and Wells Fargo reached similar peaks of 279 and 137 in roughly the same period.

Bank of America outages reported in the last 24 hours. Source: Downdetector.

He The Federal Reserve launched FedNow in July, allowing banks and money transfer services to make payments instantly, without needing to rely on ACH.

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