RBS, Natwest and Ulster Bank customers face debit card problems

Some customers who bank with RBS (LSE: RBS.L - news) , Natwest and Ulster Bank are finding that their debit cards are being declined when they attempt to make purchases.

An RBS spokesman told Sky News: "We are aware that some customers are experiencing issues using their debit card.

"We are working on resolving this issue and apologise for any inconvenience".

It is thought the problems have arisen with sterling transactions at both point of sale - that is, transactions in stores using a merchant's card terminal - and online.

Thousands of customers are said to have been affected, and RBS and Natwest are facing a stream of enquiries on Twitter (Xetra: A1W6XZ - news) relating to the issue.

ATMs and online banking services should be operating as usual.

It is not the first time a banking glitch and a number of IT meltdowns have caused embarrassment for the group.

In January, Natwest and RBS customers reported debit cards being declined at the tills and pins blocked on New Year's Day.

Last September, customers could not withdraw cash or use their card in branches.

A few months earlier in June 2015, many were left without money for a weekend after 600,000 transactions were delayed.

RBS also suffered a software meltdown in the summer of 2012.

Millions of people were locked out of their online bank accounts for a while, which RBS blamed on a cyber attack.

It led to the bank being handed a fine of £56m by regulators.