Global Payments Issue Disrupts CHAPS Interbank Service

The Bank of England reported a global payments issue affecting the CHAPS interbank service, delaying high-value transactions such as house purchases. Retail payment systems remain unaffected. The BoE is collaborating with third-party suppliers and authorities to resolve the issue promptly.

The Bank of England announced on Thursday that a 'global payments issue' is affecting the interbank payments service CHAPS, leading to delays in high-value and time-sensitive transactions, including house purchases.

The CHAPS system, essential for settling sterling money market and foreign exchange transactions, saw an average daily turnover of 364 billion pounds ($472 billion) last year, representing over 90% of total sterling payment values. 'We are mindful 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 promptly as possible,' stated the BoE.

Retail payment systems, such as debit cards and ATMs, were not affected. The CHAPS system, operated by the BoE, has experienced technical difficulties previously, including incidents in August last year and in 2014 when the Real-Time Gross Settlement system, which supports CHAPS, was down for several hours.

(With inputs from agencies.)