Technical problems with Barclays' online BACS payment system have
left thousands of individuals and organisations without cash for
the Easter weekend.
Barclays said "several thousand" business customers of its Barclays
Business Master BACS payment system found that payments they
thought had been made on Tuesday had failed to arrive at payees
today (28 March).
The BACS system uses a three-day process to make payments -
transmission, processing and clearing - but Barclays' online
Business Master system did not tell payers on Tuesday that there
was a problem.
A spokesman for BACS told CW360.com that there were no problems
with the BACS systems and that payments from the other banks had
gone through as usual.
Payees only found out on Thursday morning that there was a problem
when they checked their balances or tried to withdraw cash.
A Barclays spokesman said payments made this Tuesday would now
clear next Tuesday because of the bank holiday tomorrow and the
Easter break.
The defaults will mean that payees' mortgages are not paid, direct
debits may not go out, and people will be left without cash.
Companies will also have to wait longer to be paid for their
invoices.
The spokesman said Barclays had informed its own branches about the
problem and that Barclays customers should still be allowed to
withdraw cash from cashpoints from Friday morning, even though the
balance will not show on their accounts.
Barclays said that customers could go to any bank before 4.30pm and
present their wage slips and ask to have the payment
honoured.
Barclays added that other banks, except HSBC, which uses a
different system, would allow money to be withdrawn from cashpoints
from Friday.
A spokesman for NatWest told CW360.com: "If they go to a cashpoint
today they will not get their cash, but if they come into a branch
and have proof that they should have been paid we will try and be
sympathetic, however, we can't guarantee every payment and it will
depend on individual circumstances."
Barclays has promised to cover any interest charges accrued by
customers as a result of the problem.
A director who runs a company which processes BACS payments on
behalf of clients said: "If we were used instead of Barclays
Business Master, we would have known about the technical problem on
Tuesday night and could have informed the payers about it."
Barclays admitted that by Thursday afternoon it had found the cause
of the problem.