US-based CheckFree's online bill payment service ground to a halt Wednesday following a power outage at the vendor's data centre in Georgia.
CheckFree spokeswoman Judy Wicks told reporters that the Norcross centre switched to using a back-up computer system following the power failure on Wednesday morning, but the network still wasn't able to keep the EBPP service in operation.
Wicks says the system was restored in phases during the course of the day and the company does not expect any payment delays as a result of the outage. If payments are delayed CheckFree will ensure customers do not incur any late fees, she says.
Around 1600 banks, brokerages and credit unions use CheckFree to deliver online bill payment services and more than 15 million consumers use the system every month.