RBS missing payments blasted by Treasury Select Committee chairman Andrew Tyrie

The Treasury Select Committee chairman has blasted RBS for the “serious” glitch that caused hundreds of thousands of payments to go missing. 

 

It emerged this morning that around 600,000 payments, including tax credits and benefits, had not been made overnight, leaving thousands of RBS, Natwest, Coutts and Ulster Bank customers stranded without enough cash to cover bills and other payments. 

 

RBS said it had resolved the problem, and that all payments would be processed by Saturday. 

 

But Andrew Tyrie, Conservative MP for Chichester, said this was an “unacceptable” delay. 

 

“Restoration of payments should be a top priority. It is crucial for those in the greatest financial need and also those who find it difficult to go to a branch,” he said. 

 

 “Many thousands of individuals and businesses have once again been badly hit. Customers that have suffered loss should be reimbursed in full by RBS. It is also important that credit scores remain unaffected.

 

Tyrie noted that it was another “serious IT failure” within the industry, saying it should “concern both the conduct and prudential regulators”. 

 

He said he would write to RBS boss Ross McEwan, as well as FCA chief executive Martin Wheatley and Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the PRA “to obtain reassurance that the steps necessary to bring a halt to these failures are being taken.”

 

This is the latest in a string of glitches that have locked bank customers out of their accounts. RBS itself has been at the centre of similar technical glitches on at least three occasions. 

 

Tyrie has consistently condemned banks for failures in oversight when it comes to their computer systems.