Bank deposit delays: Some customers still haven’t been paid

Some customers still haven’t received their direct deposit paychecks following a “human error” last week deep in the plumbing of America’s banking system.

The deposit delays are linked to a problem that emerged on Friday with the Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments system, causing headaches for consumers and employers.

Banks stressed to customers that all funds are secure. Payments that did not go through late last week had to be resent, a process that can take time.

It’s not clear how widespread the impact continues to be or how long it will take for all customers to receive their deposits.

An industry source confirmed to CNN on Monday that it’s likely some customers haven’t received their deposits yet. The source stressed that banks are at the mercy of the originating bank to resend payment files.

Federal regulators are watching closely.

In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the agency is “aware of the issue and monitoring how institutions are responding.”

“This brief disruption underscores the importance of the nation’s payments infrastructure,” the CFPB spokesperson said.

As of early Monday afternoon, Bank of America and Chase are the top two companies overall (not just banks specifically) where users are reporting problems on Downdetector.

Wells Fargo, US Bank, Truist and other banks where users reported problems on Friday were not ranked high on Downdetector.

Some customers are complaining they still haven’t been paid, while others say they have received their direct deposits.

“Bruh, what’s wrong with @BankofAmerica I can’t even pay my bills,” said one user on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Another user on Downdetector wrote to Wells Fargo complaining that payday was Friday and on Monday nothing had been updated.

“Wells Fargo can y’all speed it up? Some of us do have bills to pay!” the user said.

Wells Fargo told CNN the bank will update account balances as originating financial institutions reissue deposits. “We continue to work directly with our customers,” Wells Fargo spokesman Jim Seitz said.

Bank of America continues to display an alert to online customers warning them that “some deposits may be temporarily delayed” because of an “issue impacting multiple financial institutions.”

“Your accounts remain secure, and your balance will be updated as soon as the deposit is received,” Bank of America said in the alert. “You do not need to take any action.”

Chase explained to customers in a message posted on Downdetector that a “system issue” impacted ACH debits and credits sent to it and other banks.

“The originators of these deposits are working to resend the payment files and we will post them as soon as we can,” Chase said in the message.

Asked for comment, multiple banks referred inquiries to The Clearing House, which is owned by the largest commercial banks including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, CitiBank and Wells Fargo.

The Clearing House did not provide an updated comment on Monday or any timetable for when the problem will be fully resolved.

In a statement on Saturday, The Clearing House told CNN it was “working with the financial institutions who have customers that have been impacted,” adding that “all other ACH transactions are processing as expected.”

The Federal Reserve alerted banks Friday afternoon there was a “processing issue” at ACH, the system that allows banks to send electronic payments to each other. Banks use that system to send everything from direct deposit paychecks to customer bill payments for mortgages and utilities.

The Fed noted that the problem originated in the private-sector operator The Clearing House.

Greg MacSweeney, a spokesperson for The Clearing House, said Friday the problem was caused by a “manual error” and was not linked to a cybersecurity issue.

MacSweeney said the problem impacted less than 1% of the daily ACH volume in the United States.

Of course, 1% of a massive system is still a large amount. The ACH Network processed 7.8 billion payments worth $19.7 trillion during the third quarter alone, according to Nacha, a nonprofit that governs the network.

Multiple customers complained online over the weekend and on Monday about a lack of communication from their bank about the delayed deposits.

Dennis Kelleher, CEO of financial reform advocacy firm Better Markets, was not surprised.

“There always seems to be a conspiracy of silence in the industry when things go wrong… There should be full transparency so that the public is informed and that there is a basis for confidence that the problems have actually been fixed,” Kelleher told CNN. “Without transparency you can’t have oversight or accountability, which erodes trust and confidence.”