Santander said its services have returned to normal after a “technical problem” which left some customers unable to make payments online or buy food at the supermarket on Saturday 15 May.

The bank apologised for the inconvenience the problem caused, saying its services had returned to normal by the late evening.

Customers have reported problems with the bank’s telephone, branch, online and card services.

Consumer organisation Which? said some people had reported not being able to make payments for several hours.

The bank has advised customers they can access cash from other banks’ ATMs.

In a statement on Saturday night, a spokesperson said: “All of our banking services are now working as normal.

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“The bank must offer compensation”

Gareth Shaw, head of money at Which?, said the technical issues will have caused “stress for many Santander customers”.

He added: “These problems demonstrate why it is vital that banks invest to ensure their systems are up to the task of protecting their customers’ accounts and maintaining the services they rely on.

“Customers can incur fines, penalties and fees when they’re not able to access their finances, so the bank must offer compensation to all those who have been impacted in this way.”

In a statement on Saturday night, Santander said all its banking services were back to working as normal.

It is unclear how many customers were affected. But the bank has assured customers that “no one will be out of pocket” as a result of the glitch.