Image source, Getty Images
- author, Mitchell Labiak
- role, Business reporter
Thousands of British banking customers were hit on Friday by payment problems at several of the biggest financial institutions.
Banks including HSBC, Nationwide, Barclays and Virgin Money were all affected by problems in the systems that run payments between consumers and businesses.
The group that oversees the payments system said the issues that were causing problems had already been resolved and payment delays had been eliminated.
But several people told the BBC they are still facing problems, with some having very little cash left.
The timing of the glitch was particularly problematic given that the last Friday of every month is payday for many salaried workers.
Many people also have bills to pay during this time.
“My bill has bounced and I can’t buy the train ticket I need within the hour,” said one X customer.
Another said customers should be compensated for the “inconvenience caused to them on payday”.
“We all have bills to pay,” they added.
Ryan, from Telford, who did not want to give his surname, said he had only £12 left in his name because he had not received his wages.
The 29-year-old engineer said invoices to his account began being rejected.
“I’m planning on moving next week and have run out of savings for the deposit and rent,” he said.
The BBC understands the banks were affected by issues with Faster Payments, a system that operates “behind the scenes” of the UK financial system.
It aims to enable instant, real-time payments between millions of individuals and businesses.
Pay UK, which oversees the system, said it was “aware that a small number of Faster payments were delayed or not processed early today.”
“Working with our infrastructure provider, this technical issue has been resolved.”
The company added that “payments have since returned to normal and the arrears have been cleared.”
But some of the bank’s customers dispute this, telling the BBC they are yet to receive their salary payments.
HSBC, Nationwide, Barclays and Virgin Media all previously apologised for payment delays.
This is not the first time that a major financial institution’s services have been hit by problems.
Have you been affected by payment issues?
