HSBC to probe Bacs issues as payments are held up

Banking giant HSBC said it will investigate the issues that led to a number of payments being held up on Friday.

The FTSE 100 group said the problems were thought to be linked with the national Bacs system, which processes up to £50bn every day and plays a crucial part in Britain's financial system.

Disgruntled HSBC users took to Twitter to complain about the problem, which struck on the day thousands of people were expecting to received their monthly salaries.

One user complained about being left in the red after pre-scheduled direct debit payments left his account, even though he did not receive his salary, while others criticised the bank for suffering such a serious issue on the day before a bank holiday weekend.

On its own Twitter account, the bank said it was working hard to rectify the issue.