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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Bank of England payment system crashes | Bank of England payment system crashes |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| People buying or selling a house and businesses trying to shift large sums of money faced delays on Monday after the Bank of England mechanism used for transferring money failed. | People buying or selling a house and businesses trying to shift large sums of money faced delays on Monday after the Bank of England mechanism used for transferring money failed. |
| The behind-the-scenes payment system – which processes about £277bn of transactions daily – failed to open as usual at 6am. | The behind-the-scenes payment system – which processes about £277bn of transactions daily – failed to open as usual at 6am. |
| Shortly after 4pm, the Bank of England announced that the system was online again, and would run until 8pm in an attempt to clear the backlog of payments. | |
| Estate agents were among the first to report concerns, with one describing how an 88-year old woman was ready to move and had the contents of her house packed up on the driveway when the payment problem hit. | Estate agents were among the first to report concerns, with one describing how an 88-year old woman was ready to move and had the contents of her house packed up on the driveway when the payment problem hit. |
| The Bank said the retail-time gross settlement system (RTGS) had been hit by a technical issue and could give no indication of when it might be resolved. The largest, most crucial payments would be processed manually into computers by staff at the Bank. | The Bank said the retail-time gross settlement system (RTGS) had been hit by a technical issue and could give no indication of when it might be resolved. The largest, most crucial payments would be processed manually into computers by staff at the Bank. |
| This so-called Chaps system – which stands for clearing house automated payment system – processes 92% of transactions between banks and is used to process large-value transactions, such as house purchases. The average payment is £2.1m. | This so-called Chaps system – which stands for clearing house automated payment system – processes 92% of transactions between banks and is used to process large-value transactions, such as house purchases. The average payment is £2.1m. |
| Andrew Montlake, at the mortgage broker Coreco, said: “If there are going to be Chaps issues then we won’t know yet – transfers usually need to be done by 3pm if someone is to complete on that day. It’s worth adding that Monday is not the biggest completion day – Fridays tend to be the most popular day.” | Andrew Montlake, at the mortgage broker Coreco, said: “If there are going to be Chaps issues then we won’t know yet – transfers usually need to be done by 3pm if someone is to complete on that day. It’s worth adding that Monday is not the biggest completion day – Fridays tend to be the most popular day.” |
| Some estate agents were finding problems earlier in the day. Kaye Orwin of Andersons estate agents in Sheffield said two families were aiming to complete their moves on Monday. “The solicitors called to say that money had been put in the system from the purchase at the bottom of the chain but then it couldn’t come out,” said Orwin. | Some estate agents were finding problems earlier in the day. Kaye Orwin of Andersons estate agents in Sheffield said two families were aiming to complete their moves on Monday. “The solicitors called to say that money had been put in the system from the purchase at the bottom of the chain but then it couldn’t come out,” said Orwin. |
| She said the sellers who were next up the chain, an 88-year-old woman and her son, were already packed when things went wrong. “The removal van was sat on the driveway,” said Orwin. “We’ve opened the garage and they are putting things in there for now. The buyers at the bottom of the chain have to be out of their rental home today,” said Orwin, who said in more than 20 years selling homes she had never experienced this kind of problem. | |
| Chaps, which usually closes at 4pm each day, is being extended to give customers more time to process transactions. | |
| The systems for processing direct debits and internet transactions is not affected by the problems at Chaps, which was due to an attempt to add a new bank to the system over the weekend. | |
| The Bank of England said it had “identified a technical issue related to some routine maintenance of the RTGS payment system and has paused settlement while we resolve it”. | The Bank of England said it had “identified a technical issue related to some routine maintenance of the RTGS payment system and has paused settlement while we resolve it”. |
| “ We are working to address this issue as quickly as possible, and restart the RTGS payment system in a controlled manner. The most important payments are being made manually and we can reassure the public that all payments made today will be processed,” the Bank said. | “ We are working to address this issue as quickly as possible, and restart the RTGS payment system in a controlled manner. The most important payments are being made manually and we can reassure the public that all payments made today will be processed,” the Bank said. |
| Phil Kenworthy, managing director of Chaps, said the system was currently unable to process any payments. “Chaps is liaising with the Bank of England, which is working hard to resolve the issue – which means payments submitted today will be processed. Chaps will be extending its operational day to enable its participants to submit and receive Chaps payment instructions later than normal,” he said. | Phil Kenworthy, managing director of Chaps, said the system was currently unable to process any payments. “Chaps is liaising with the Bank of England, which is working hard to resolve the issue – which means payments submitted today will be processed. Chaps will be extending its operational day to enable its participants to submit and receive Chaps payment instructions later than normal,” he said. |
| Kenworthy said anyone waiting for a Chaps payment should contact their bank. | Kenworthy said anyone waiting for a Chaps payment should contact their bank. |