The Department of Social Insurance apologised for a delay in pension payments for some members of the public, saying the issue will be rectified this afternoon.

A spokesman for the Department of Social Insurance yesterday stressed that the only pension payments affected by the delay were HSBC direct deposits, and that payments were successfully made for all of those who receive physical cheques.

“We always emphasise the core value of providing excellent customer service to the public and the Department deeply regrets the gravity of inconveniences experienced by our affected pensioners, particularly over this holiday weekend,” he said.

“The Department wishes to advise that online direct deposit pension payments for HSBC customers will be paid after noon on Tuesday.”

The spokesman said that the issue stemmed from an internal delay from the Department with its automatic pensioner file upload to the bank.

“This is an unfortunate first for the Department and our monthly payments to our pensioners have been very consistent over the years,” he said. “However automatic systems in place with the bank effecting a next day value of Monday, June 16 could not be reversed back to Friday, June 13.

“We wish to thank HSBC in their attempts to work with us to reach a viable solution. Once again, the Department sincerely apologises for the inconvenience caused.”