Banks suffer five IT failures every week, according to Which? analysis, leading it to call on the next government to protect cash as a backup.

In the last year, the main UK banks suffered 265 IT shutdowns that prevented customers making payments, the consumer organisation’s analysis of Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) data found.

These glitches involved 133 incidents involving internet banking, 111 mobile banking failures and 90 telephone banking outages. Some single incidents may have affected customers at more than one bank, meaning the total number of unique incidents, as defined by the FCA, is likely to be fewer than 265.

The Which? analysis found that Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Santander customers endured the most IT glitches last year – with both banks suffering 18 failures. This was followed by Barclays (17), Tesco Bank (16) and First Direct (15).

At the other end of the table, Starling Bank and M&S Bank both went a whole year without a single glitch.

The FCA figures come after another turbulent week for TSB, which saw the bank faced with another systems issue that prevented customers from receiving payments.

The bank had made public the report into last year’s IT meltdown that left 1.9 million customers shut out of their accounts. However, TSB actually suffered fewer glitches than many of its rivals, with only six in the last year.

Gareth Shaw, head of money at Which?, said: “These findings show the industry is still failing to get to grips with alarmingly frequent banking glitches, which can cause real stress and frustration for millions of people left locked out of their account and struggling to make payments.”

UK Finance chief executive Stephen Jones responded: “Operational resilience is crucial in a modern financial system and the industry continues to invest billions to ensure systems - human and digital - are robust and secure.

"Digital innovation is transforming the way money is managed with 24/7 access to payment systems, increasing the range of day to day banking options and providing better back-up for customers if a service is temporarily disrupted," he continued, adding: "The industry conducts sector-wide exercises with regulators to ensure it is prepared to respond effectively to any major disruptions or events as part of its continued commitment to maintaining the resilience of the financial system."

Jones concluded: "UK Finance continues to engage with government over how coordination between regulatory authorities could be improved, seeking to avoid overlapped or rushed mandatory change programmes that impact firms’ ability to protect their customers.”

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