FedLine® Access Solutions Business Continuity Guide

Overview - Disruption to FedLine and Other Electronic Access Solutions

The Federal Reserve provides depository institutions with several options to access Federal Reserve Financial Services. Currently, the FedLine access solutions include:

  • FedLine Web®
  • FedLine Advantage®
  • FedLine Command®
  • FedLine Direct®

Other electronic access methods include:

  • FedMail®
  • FedPhone® - Please see the recent announcement (PDF) regarding the discontinuation of the FedPhone Service.

The Customer Contact Center (CCC) provides customer support for electronic access connections and services and will provide up-to-date information regarding service disruptions. Service disruption information will be communicated in a number of ways, including via email, phone calls and announcements on FedLine Home and the Service Status page. The CCC has multiple geographically-dispersed locations to help ensure its ability to provide customer support during a service disruption.

The systems that support FedLine access solutions and other electronic services are also located in multiple geographically-dispersed locations for redundancy.

Preparing for Electronic Access Disruptions

It is important that your staff become familiar with the information provided in this section of the National Business Continuity Guide, as well as the information provided for each of the electronically-accessed business applications and services you use.

For information about contingency planning for FedACHServices, please review the Customer Planning for FedACH Contingency Options Guides for FedPhone (PDF) and FedMail (PDF). Please see the recent announcement (PDF) regarding the discontinuation of the FedPhone Service.

For information about contingency planning for Fedwire Services, please review the Customer Planning for Fedwire Services Contingency Options Guides for FedMail (PDF).

"Customer Planning for FedACH Contingency Options Guides for FedLine Web and FedLine Advantage access solutions” and “Customer Planning for Fedwire Funds and Securities Services Contingency Options Guide for FedLine Advantage” are available via the EUAC Center. To gain access to the EUAC Center, complete the Federal Reserve End User Authorization Contact form.

For more information about contingency planning for FedACHServices or Fedwire Services via the FedLine Direct or FedLine Command access solutions, contact your designated Customer Contact Center.

During Electronic Access Disruptions - What You Should Do

During the service disruption:

  • If your organization uses the FedLine Web or FedLine Advantage access solutions via the Internet, first confirm whether or not your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is the cause of the service disruption. If the problem is not related to the ISP, call the Customer Contact Center for assistance.

    NOTE: The FedLine Advantage access solution via the Internet is configured to fail over to dial mode if the Internet connection is disrupted. Slower transmission times may be the result of a disruption in Internet service.
  • Customers using the FedLine Advantage access solution via a dial connection should first attempt to establish a connection. If this fails, call the Customer Contact Center for assistance.
  • FedLine Direct and FedLine Command customers with dedicated WAN connections should leave their systems active, if possible, to receive broadcast or other messages that will indicate service has been restored.
  • FedPhone access solution customers should call the Customer Contact Center to confirm the status of FedPhone. If necessary, the Customer Contact Center will direct you to the appropriate business area to process your transactions off-line. If there is an identified global problem for a business area, a message will likely be added by that business line to its recording that will provide further information and/or directions.
  • FedMail access solution customers should call the Customer Contact Center to confirm the status of FedMail. If necessary, the Customer Contact Center will direct you to the appropriate business area to process your request.
  • For additional information on service disruptions, refer to the specific product or service area listed to the right on the National Business Continuity Guide.

After the service disruption:

Upon recovering from a service disruption, you may experience delays due to heavy volume.

  • FedLine Direct and FedLine Command customers with dedicated WAN connections should attempt to establish a connection to send and receive pending messages and files. If this fails, call the Customer Contact Center for assistance.
  • When service resumes, compare reports generated by the Federal Reserve Financial Services applications to your local totals to check the transactions that were being processed at the time of the service disruption. Please verify that all messages have been delivered or received. Your comparison may identify lost or duplicate messages and files.
  • For additional information on service disruptions, refer to the specific business area continuity information listed to the right on the National Business Continuity Guide.

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