Technical Issues Delay Home Purchases Due to Bank of England System MalfunctionsTechnical Issues Delay Home Purchases Due to Bank of England System Malfunctions The Bank of England has reported technical disruptions with its Chaps payment system, causing delays in home purchases. Chaps, responsible for handling approximately £360 billion in transactions daily, is utilized by banks, businesses, and individuals for substantial purchases, including homes and car down payments. Widely employed by lawyers for real estate transactions, the system’s malfunction has led to delays in high-value, time-sensitive payments. A statement from the bank acknowledged the impact and emphasized ongoing efforts to resolve the issue in collaboration with industry partners and authorities. Individuals concerned about pending Chaps payments are advised to contact their bank or payment service provider. The bank clarified that retail payment systems remain unaffected, enabling continued use of ATMs, card payments, and bank transfers. Last year, the bank experienced similar outages that disrupted the system for approximately six hours.
Technical problems with a key payments system have led to delays in the purchase of a number of homes, the Bank of England has warned.
The disruptions are affecting the central bank’s Chaps system, which processes transactions worth around £360 billion every day.
It is used by large banks, companies and individuals buying expensive items such as a car or making a down payment on a house.
It is also often used by lawyers to sell houses.
The bank said a “global payments issue” was affecting its service and was delaying a number of high-value, time-sensitive payments, including home purchases.
“We are aware 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 quickly as possible,” a statement said.
“If you are concerned about a Chaps payment you want to make or receive today, please contact your bank or other payment service provider.
“Retail payment systems are not affected, so people and businesses can continue to use ATMs, card payments and bank transfers as normal.”
The bank suffered similar outages in August last year, when the system was down for about six hours.
