Banking glitch hits RBS and Natwest customers on Cyber Monday

Shoppers across the UK have had their credit and debit cards declined in one of the busiest online shopping days for the year.

The technology meltdown appears to have affected the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group, which includes NatWest and Ulster Bank.

An RBS spokeswoman has confirmed the problem.

"We are aware of the technical issues being experienced by customers and are working to get them fixed urgently," she said.

"We apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused."

The meltdown comes amid a day dubbed Cyber Monday, which is typically when the highest amount of online transactions are expected so shoppers can meet pre-Christmas delivery deadlines.

Angry customers have taken to social media to vent the frustrations.

"Natwest is down. Just looked like a broke alcoholic attempting to buy booze, but apparently it is not my fault. Thanks Natwest," Holly Larsen, from Hither Green in southeast London tweeted.

Liz Stinchcombe wrote: "Natwest gone down again. Brilliant especially when your in your natwest uniform doing your food shop."

Others seemed relieved to understand why their accounts were being declined.

"So that's why my card got declined 3 times and I couldn't log in to online banking," London woman Charley Francis wrote.

Customer reports indicate the problem is affecting the banks' websites and smartphone apps as well.