Banker & Tradesman file photo

A processing glitch in the network that processes electronic transfers between nearly all U.S. bank accounts led to delays in settling deposits, some of which remain stalled, according to the private company that operates the system.

The Clearing House Payments Co. said Monday that a technical error on Thursday resulted in some payment information sent to banks with account numbers and customer names masked, preventing them from being processed immediately. TCH, as the company is known, is owned by a group of 22 major banks, including Citibank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase.

Many customers have complained about the problem on social media, noting that delayed paycheck deposits have imperiled important automatic payments such as mortgage payments, rent and credit-card bills.

TCH apologized for the error and emphasized that individual banks were not responsible for the situation. It also noted that the issue affected only a “very small percentage” of all transactions.

It said it was working with the banks, their customers and the Federal Reserve to fix the problem as quickly as possible.