A widespread outage of the Federal Reserve payment system on November 3 has left some of the largest U.S. banks unable to process customer deposits, causing significant disruptions for account holders. The Federal Reserve attributed the issue to a “processing problem” within the Automated Clearing House (ACH), a vital payment processing network widely used by banks and employers to transfer wages into employee bank accounts. The ACH is jointly operated by the Federal Reserve Banks and the Electronic Payment Network.
While banks have reassured customers that their accounts remain secure, the outage has raised concerns and complaints from affected individuals. Many took to social media to voice their frustration, highlighting the practical challenges they are facing as a result of delayed deposits. Georgiaree Godrey, a Twitter user, reported that she has not been paid and is now unable to cover her rent, a problem affecting many others.
Another Twitter user, Des Imoto, argued that funds can’t be considered secure if they are missing, suggesting that Bitcoin offers a solution to such issues. They commented, “It’s the opposite of secure since the funds are missing. #Bitcoin fixes this.”
A third user, LashishLizard, directly questioned Wells Fargo about the potential financial implications of the outage, inquiring if the bank would cover late fees, court fees, and other associated costs arising from the situation.
This incident highlights the financial vulnerability of a significant portion of the American population. A CNBC survey from September revealed that 61% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, an increase from 58% in March. For those dependent on timely payments to cover essential expenses, any disruption can have serious consequences.
Outage reports began to surge around 11:00 am UTC time on November 3. Major banks like Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo experienced peak outage reports, with Bank of America hitting 313 reports in a 15-minute interval at 4:00 pm UTC time, according to Downdetector. Chase and Wells Fargo reported similar peaks of 279 and 137 during the same timeframe.
Notably, the Federal Reserve recently introduced FedNow in July, a system that enables banks and money transmitter services to make instant payments without relying on the ACH. The recent outage underscores the importance of reliable and redundant payment infrastructure in an increasingly digital and interconnected financial landscape.