About 600,000 payments expected by customers of the RBS group of banks have failed to enter accounts overnight, the bank has admitted.

Payments including tax credits and disability living allowance are among the payments that have failed to be credited to accounts. RBS admitted that some payments were "missing", but it had now identified and fixed the underlying problem. In 2012, the group was hit by a major IT meltdown that led to a large fine. Customers from RBS, NatWest, Coutts and Ulster Bank - all part of the same group - are thought to have been affected by the issue.Some 600,000 transactions have been affected and the banking group said it was now trying to update accounts as a "priority".

"We are aware of an issue with our overnight process which has resulted in some of our customers not having credits or direct debits being applied to their accounts," a spokesman for RBS said. "We are working to get this resolved as quickly as possible and apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused. "To any customers concerned about the implications of this issue, we advise them to get in touch with our call centres or come into a branch where our staff will be ready to help. We will ensure no customers are left out of pocket as a result of this issue." Some customers reported waiting more up to an hour for an answer from the bank's call centre, on calls which could be charged at a local rate. The bank said it was experiencing a "high volume of calls". HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which oversees some benefits payments, said that some tax credits and child benefit payments had not gone through, and that those affected should contact their bank......Read more here