On Friday, November 3, the US customers could not make deposits at their respective banks. The unavailability of depository services sent shock waves among the US customers.
Reacting to the news, the US central banking system, the Federal Reserve, revealed that the problem emanated from an error in the payment processing network. In a blog post, the Federal Reserve detailed the nature of the bug affecting its processing network.
Fed’s Automated Clearing House Encounters a Processing Issue
The report demonstrated that the bug interfered with the processing program of the Automated Clearing House (ACH). Typically, the ACH serves as a payment processing network for most US banks.
Also, the ACH supports businesses in paying wages to their employees. The blog post illustrated that the ACH is co-owned by the Federal Reserve Bank and the Electronic Payment Network (EPN).
News concerning the unavailability of deposit services ignited fear among US customers. The affected customers enquired about the safety of their funds.
In a separate writing, the affected banks confirmed that the bug was caused by human error and its severity was less than that of a malicious attack. The bank described the bug as an internal issue and had minimal impact on customers’ funds.
The bank report underlined that the customers’ funds were safe and secure. Hours later, the Federal Reserve confirmed at 4:44 pm (UTC) that the problem had been fixed and the deposit service had resumed operation.
Federal Reserve Restores Bank Deposit Service
Upon contacting several banks to enquire whether the customers could make deposits, Chase Bank’s spokesperson argued that the processing issues affected most financial institutions tied to the Federal Reserve banking system.
The spokesperson admitted that other banks were functionally amid the downtime. He added that despite the Federal Reserve fixing the bug, some customers could not make deposits.
Other banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and the US Bank, had earlier reported the matter to the Federal Reserve. Also, some affected customers expressed concerns about the X account (formerly Twitter).
A post from an X user, Georgiaree Godrey, illustrated that the November 3 ordeal restricted her from paying her bills on time. She complained that the unavailability of depository services restricted her from paying her rent.
In a separate tweet, Des Imoto feared that his funds were at risk. He advised the financial regulator to consider introducing Bitcoin (BTC) to its banking system. Imoto argued that Bitcoin has an excellent store of value and self-custodial capability compared bank deposit and other fiat currencies.
US Customers Unable to Settle Bills Timely
Elsewhere, X users under the “LashishLizar” account requested Well Fargo to take strategic action to address the processing issue. The disgraced “LashishLizar” demanded whether the banks would assist the customers in paying additional fees the customers incurred during the downtime.
He complained that most of the landlords and property owners demanded that payment should be made promptly. ” LashishLizar” argued that the banks should settle late fees, court fees, and other additional costs on behalf of their customers since the processing issue was an internal problem.
Another X user posted on the Bank of America official page enquiring about the safety of his funds. The Bank of America customer was concerned he could not settle his bills.
Responding to multiple customer queries, Bank of America apologized for the inconvenience caused. The bank admitted that the processing issue has affected multiple banks, and customers might experience deposit delays.
The bank requested the customers to remain calm as the Federal Reserve seeks to address the challenge.
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