LONDON - The Royal Bank of Scotland, bailed out by the British government five years ago, was forced to apologize Tuesday after a systems crash left millions of its customers unable to pay with their debit or credit cards for several hours on Monday evening.
The systems error occurred as Britons headed home from work on Monday, leaving them unable to buy groceries or use their cards on one of the biggest online shopping days of the year, known as “Cyber Monday.â€
Monday evening, R.B.S. posted on its Twitter feed that it was aware of “technical issues,†which ultimately led to some customers being unable to conduct card transactions or access its online banking website. The company reported via its Twitter feed about three hours later that its systems were coming back online.
“We would like to apologize to our customers,†R.B.S. said in a statement on Tuesday, announcing that its systems were fully working. “If anyone has been left out of pocket as a result of these systems problems, we will put this right.â€
The technical glitch is another embarrassment for the bank, which remains majority owned by the British government.
Last week, R.B.S. said it would hire the law firm Clifford Chance to independently examine its lending practices after it was criticized in two reports, including one that claimed it had forced some business clients into serious financial difficulties.
A report by British businessman and government adviser Lawrence Tomlinson claimed last week that the bank had forced some business clients unnecessarily into default so it could charge certain fees and take over assets at a discount.
Andrew Large, a former Bank of England deputy governor, said in a separate report released last week that the bank had made progress since the 2008 financial crisis but was not doing enough to lend to small and midsize businesses.
The government passed along the findings of Mr. Tomlinson’s report to the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, two of Britain’s financial regulators.
R.B.S. received more than 45 billion pounds, or about $73.7 billion, during the financial crisis five years ago and George Osborne, the chancellor of the Exchequer, wants to begin selling the government’s 81 percent stake in the near future.
All this comes as Ross McEwan, who took over as R.B.S.’s new chief executive in October, has vowed to change the bank’s culture and win back the trust of its customers.
