Check your account: BPI glitch causes rogue transactions

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Because BPI suspended online banking while it investigated the glitch, many customers were unable to check if they had been affected

The Bank of the Philippines Islands (BPI) has admitted that a major system glitch, which is causing unauthorised transactions to hit customer accounts.

The bank said the error caused some transactions at BPI and BPI Family Savings, between April 27 and May 2, to be double-posted on June 6, in cases by as much as 100,000 pesos.

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Some customers have turned to social media today (Wednesday, June 7) to claim that their accounts had even gone into the red.

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BPI chief executive Cezar Consing apologised this morning in an interview with the ABS-CBN news channel.

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“This is not a hack, this is an internal issue,” he said. “Over the next few hours, we are making sure the double credits, debits are corrected.”

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) also dismissed rumours about any hacking.

“Not true, but there was system error that resulted in double debits and credits,” incoming BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla said in a message to the Finance Department.

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In a statement posted on its Twitter account, BPI said some clients might have seen their accounts debited twice or credited twice for a past transaction.

It said they had suspended access to electronic banking while the issue was corrected. However, by doing so they are making it impossible for their customers to check if they’ve been affected by the glitch.

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According to its latest annual report at the end of last year, BPI had nearly eight million clients with deposits of 1.4 trillion pesos.

Shares of BPI fell nearly two per cent in early stock market trading in Manila.

The 165-year-old BPI counts Philippines conglomerate Ayala and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC among its major shareholders.