TWENTY BRANCHES OF Ulster Bank around the country have opened today as the bank continues to try to deal with the major technical problem which has been ongoing since Wednesday.

The bank has not released details of the technical issue, but says that it is taking longer than anticipated to clear the backlog caused by the problem.

It had originally said that it hoped to be fully operational again by Monday but has now acknowledged that this is unlikely to happen.

The bank apologised ‘unreservedly’ to people who have been affected by the hitch, saying: “We appreciate that this technical issue is having a significant impact on many of our customers, their businesses and the customers of other banks”.

While the problem mainly affects money lodged to accounts, such as wages and social welfare payments, the bank has said that there may also be a some interruptions to ATMs, and internet and mobile banking.

The bank has said that any customers who face bank charges as a result of the issue will be refunded the money.

A full list of the branches open around the country today can be seen here. The bank has asked customers to bring identification and account details with them.

Ulster Bank’s sister bank in the UK, NatWest, has opened 1,200 branches today, the first time the bank has ever opened on a Sunday.

The chief executive of RBS, which owns both Ulster Bank and NatWest, yesterday issued a public apology for the major technical hitch and said the bank had let down its customers.

Yesterday: Some Ulster Bank branches remain open today as problems continue >