Financial safety

Direct deposits were delayed by Federal Reserve glitch

Direct deposits and other financial transactions were delayed Thursday by a glitch at the Federal Reserve that has since been resolved.

Banks were alerted on Thursday morning to a "disruption" in the Fed's automated clearing house (ACH) network that caused settlement delays. Banks use the ACH network to zip money to each other for online bill payments and direct deposits.

As of 10:31 am ET, the Fed reported that all systems were operating normally and technical staff had "resolved the issue." The central bank said payment files for the business day of December 18 have been completed, although some transaction reports will be delayed.

"We apologize for the inconvenience and disruption this has caused your operations," the Fed said in the alert.

It's not clear what caused the problems or how many banks were impacted. Federal Reserve technical staff continue to investigate the root cause of the issue, the Fed said in a statement.