Banks report issues with direct deposits

If you logged in on Friday morning looking to verify your paycheck made it into your bank account, you might have been alarmed to discover it hadn’t.

Bank of America posted a message on its website for customers saying:

Some deposits may be temporarily delayed

Some deposits from 11/03 may be temporarily delayed due to an issue impacting multiple financial institutions. Your accounts remain secure, and your balance will be updated as soon as the deposit is received. You do not need to take any action.”

Message from Bank of America on Friday morning.

Customers at Wells Fargo, Chase, Huntington, Regions, and USAA also tell us their direct deposits haven’t shown up in their accounts yet.

The Federal Reserve, which preserves the stability of the American financial system, issued an alert Friday morning saying “On November 3, 2023, a processing issue at EPN, the private sector ACH operator, resulted in a number of ACH entries having certain data elements obscured. EPN has informed us that these items are not able to be processed by receiving depository financial institutions. EPN has instructed its participants to initiate returns, and originating depository financial institutions will need to be prepared to initiate new items to complete the payments.”

We reached out to Coast Central Credit Union. Colleen Toste, the VP of Marketing and Communications said: “We have verified that we are not having issues with direct deposits, but will continue to be diligent in identifying any and contacting members if needed.”

Protecting Your Money

When you sign up for direct deposit, the money is transferred between your employer’s bank and yours via ACH or Automated Clearing House, which is governed by the Treasury Department.

Banks are also heavily regulated by the government, and if your bank is an FDIC bank, that means it’s backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, an independent agency set up by Congress to “maintain stability in the nation’s financial system.”

According to the FDIC: “One way we do this is by insuring deposits to at least $250,000 per depositor.”

We will be following this developing story and will bring you updates as we have them.