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A “global payments issue” has hit the Bank of England’s CHAPS service.
The problem is causing delays in high-value and urgent payments, including some home purchases, the bank says.
“We are aware of the impact this is likely to have and are working closely with a third-party supplier, industry and other authorities to resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” it said.
Retail payment systems and ATMs were not affected.
It is unclear how many payments were affected by the issue, which the Bank has been aware of since midday.
Sky News understands a cyber incident has been ruled out.
Thomas Legal director Chris Barry says the issue will affect property exchanges and completions across the country today.
“While many conclusions are pre-determined and happen early in the day, some will still happen between the announcement of the issue and the 4pm cut-off time,” he told Newspage.
“For many, this just made an already stressful day even more stressful. Most contracts have a hard 12pm or 1pm cut-off time built in, so if payment is being made now, they are technically in breach of contract.”
CHAPS is one of the largest high-value payment systems in the world.
Large banks and several international banks use the system to make large payments, with the system processing around £350 billion a day.
It can also be used by people who spend a lot of money – even millions of pounds – on items such as cars, boats and property.
Our Business Presenter Ian King says it’s not uncommon for CHAPS to have problems, but the fact that it’s a global issue “raises an eyebrow or two.”
“Problems usually arise when one bank or another is facing a particularly heavy workload, and that’s when delays can happen,” he says.
“This could potentially cause a lot of irritation for people trying to complete a real estate transaction today.
“It is an important part of the financial system of the financial services sector.”
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