Fed Money Sending System Goes Down For Hours

The Federal Reserve system allowing financial institutions (FIs) to send money back and forth was down for several hours on Wednesday (Feb. 24), CNBC reported. However, it appeared to be coming back online by later in the afternoon.

The Fed called the breakdown an “operational error,” according to CNBC, and it included an array of services like the automated clearing house (ACH) system, which connects depository and related institutions sending electronic credit and debt transfer.

The full list of services impacted was Account Services, Central Bank, Check 21, Check Adjustments, FedACH, FedCash, FedLine Advantage, FedLine Command, FedLine Direct, FedLine Web, Fedwire Funds, Fedwire Securities and National Settlement, CNBC reported.

According to a statement by the Fed, the glitch had an effect on payment deadlines. The Fed said it would be communicating new deadlines to its customers when it could, according to CNBC. There is no current indication that foul play was involved in the incident.

The incident began around 11:15 a.m. Eastern time, and it was concluded around 2:45 p.m., CNBC reported, citing people with knowledge of the situation.

“Fedwire Funds Service, Fedwire Securities Service, and National Settlement Service have resumed processing and are operating normally,” the Fed said around that time, according to CNBC.

Earlier this month, Boston Federal Reserve President and CEO Eric Rosengren said the economy could see a recovery from the effects of the pandemic beginning late this year, PYMNTS reported. Rosengren’s optimism is rooted in the variables of the vaccine and the continuing rates of infection.

He said it is likely that there will be “a few more months” with the pandemic as the chief news story before things might start to die down.

Federal Reserve leaders have been fairly uniform in predicting that the economy would recover more and more as the vaccine became more widely distributed.