The Federal Reserve’s system, which allows financial institutions to send and receive money electronically, fell on Wednesday morning.
The “operational error”, as the Fed described it, impacted several services, including its main automated clearinghouse system, which connects the depositary and related institutions to send electronic credit and debt transfers.
There were no initial indications of suspected crime.
Along with the Fed ACH service, other impacted systems included Check 21, FedCash, Fedwire and the national settlement service.
A statement from the central bank said it became aware of a problem at around 11:15 am Eastern Time.
“Our technical teams have determined that the cause is an operational error by the Federal Reserve. We will provide updates through the status of the service as more information becomes available,” said the Fed.
The statement further noted that the failure affected payment deadlines and said the Fed “will communicate remediation efforts to our customers when available”.
No additional information was available.
The list of affected services: Account services, Central Bank, Check 21, Check settings, FedACH, FedCash, FedLine Advantage, FedLine Command, FedLine Direct, FedLine Web, Fedwire Funds, Fedwire Securities, National Settlement.
Interruptions, especially with the ACH system, can have far-reaching impacts. The system manages direct payroll deposits, social security and income tax refunds, as well as car payments for mortgages and utility bills.
The FedCash distributes coins and coins, which have been in short supply since the Covid-19 pandemic began. FedWire is a settlement service, while FedLine provides alternative services to the ACH system.