RBS and NatWest card users hit by petrol station glitch The problem appears to be limited to NatWest and RBS cards using Tesco's pay-at-pump transactions, which require customers to enter their card details before fuelling the car. Tesco said: "We are investigating reports of problems affecting some of our pay-at-pump services. We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience. Customers of RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank were unable to use their cards on December 2 - the busiest online shopping day of the year. Millions of shoppers were unable to withdraw cash or make payments between approximately 6.30pm and 9.30pm. During this time an estimated 750,000 people are likely to have tried to use a cash machine. Then on December 6 NatWest customers were blocked from accessing online accounts after the bank's website was targeted by hackers. In a statement, NatWest said it had experienced a sudden rush of visitors to its website, causing it to crash. This was due to a "deliberate" attack by hackers. Another glitch in June forced the former chief executive, Stephen Hester, to waive a £2m bonus. A routine update of its software system blocked all payments in and out of customers" accounts, creating a backlog of more than 100 million transactions. Customers deluged online forums with complaints, saying that they were unable to pay bills and were concerned about the impact it could have on their credit ratings. They were further infuriated after NatWest charged them for ringing its emergency helpline by initially providing an 0845 number instead of a free 0800 number, although the bank later said it would reimburse the cost of the calls. RBS pledged to compensate affected customers by refunding overdraft charges or penalty fees incurred because of the computer glitch, and help them deal with credit rating agencies. Royal Bank of Scotland is 82pc owned by the taxpayer after a multi-billion-pound bailout in 2009.