Large numbers of bank customers have been hit by technical problems that have delayed overnight payments into their bank accounts.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) confirmed that the hitch had affected large numbers of people who bank online with NatWest and UlsterBank.

A smaller number of RBS customers, including some business customers, have also been affected because the three banks share technical facilities.

A spokesman said the problem was caused by "a failure of our systems to properly update customers' balances overnight.

"The main problem customers are having is that where people have had money go into their accounts overnight, there may be a delay in it showing up on their balance. This is an unacceptable inconvenience for our customers, for which we apologise.

"We can assure our customers that this problem is strictly of a technical nature and will be fixed as soon as possible. We can also confirm that no customers will be permanently out of pocket as a result of this."

More than 1000 NatWest branches in major towns and cities will stay open until 7pm on Thursday to help customers who are unable to reach their local bank during working hours.

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