HSBC Bermuda has confirmed there were some bank cards that were not affected by the “recent interruptions to some services based on the implementation of additional security controls”.

The bank faced a slew of customer complaints and inquiries regarding declined transactions involving the use of the online payment system by local residents and merchants.

Customers assumed the bank was withdrawing its support from PayPal, the payments platform, when a number of transactions were declined.

HSBC apologised for the disruption of “those involving certain types of fund transfers, electronic wallets or third-party payment services, for example PayPal”.

A statement said today: “HSBC Customers can use their Visa debit card to complete PayPal transactions. These have not been interrupted through this period.”

They can also “use their MasterCard credit card to complete their PayPal purchases. These transactions remain unaffected and the cards connected to PayPal accounts continue to work.”

One customer complained on social media that an automatic subscription on PayPal using an HSBC card had been declined.

Several complained about the lack of transparency, and the absence of an explanation as to what was affecting normal transactions.

But the bank this week conceded that there had been problem transactions. And today, they reiterated they were working to resolve the issues.

A statement said: “With the increase in global payment transparency requirements, it is necessary for HSBC to be able to screen both the payer and the payee as it pertains to cross-border transactions.”

Tanya Bule, head of international wealth and personal banking at HSBC Bermuda stated that: “This is particularly relevant in an environment where many merchants are using third-party payment providers and as a result of the increasing use of electronic wallets on an international scale to remit money and pay for goods and services, these controls are designed to protect our customers by helping to mitigate payments being used for fraud, money laundering or other financial crimes.”

The bank said authorisation rules vary by business partner and as a result a subset of Visa Gold and Visa Classic transactions are currently experiencing declines.

The impacted transactions involve certain types of fund transfers to third-party payment services (eg Revolut, PayPal).

HSBC said they are working on a short-term solution which will optimise the rule set for specific transactions.