The Bank of England warned that its CHAPS service — one of the largest high-value payment systems in the world — has been affected by a global payments issue, causing some large, time-sensitive payments to be delayed.

Some UK house sales have been hit by problems with the system, which stands for the UK’s Clearing House Automated Payment System.

“We are mindful of the impact this is likely to have and are working closely with a third party supplier, industry and other authorities to resolve the issue as promptly as possible,” the BOE said in a written notice.

Retail payment systems are unaffected, meaning consumers can use cash points, card payments and bank transfers as normal, the central bank said.

— By Philip Aldrick (Bloomberg News)