An automated teller machine (ATM) system failure prevented about 20,000 transactions with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) on Monday, inconveniencing customers and embarrassing officials of the nation's biggest bank.

The major malfunction came on the very day the BTMU launched a new system that integrated the systems of the former Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and the former UFJ Bank -- the two banks that formed the BTMU. The system resumed normal operations later in the day.

According to BTMU officials, customers using the cash cards of the former Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi (BTM) were unable to withdraw or transfer money from ATMs operated by Seven Bank at convenience stores and other locations between 7 a.m. and 11:55 a.m. on Monday.

The officials said the trouble was caused after a code that is designed so that the BTMU can notify customers to have their bank books updated was not accepted under the new system.

On Monday, the BTMU introduced a new system that integrated the systems of its two former banks at about 250 branches that previously belonged to the BTM as the first phase of the megabank's system integration since the BTM and UFJ merged in January 2006.

The BTMU suspended its ATMs across the nation on Saturday to integrate the systems and launched the new system at 7 a.m. on Monday, only to face unexpected problems.

The remaining 420 or so branches -- which formerly belonged to UFJ -- will see their systems integrated from July with the completion slated for December.

Since the BTMU holds about 40 million accounts and deals with about 100 million transactions a day, officials were careful in proceeding with the large-scale system integration.

Since February, the BTMU suspended ATMs at all of its branches once a month to run rehearsals to make sure the new system would work without any trouble. However, because ATMs operated by Seven Bank are outside of BTMU's control, it is likely that they were not thoroughly checked.

Officials with BTMU had initially thought any difficulties with integrating the system would be relatively minimal because the new system was to be based on the system of the former BTM, sources close to the BTMU said.

Meanwhile, the Financial Services Agency on Monday announced that its will ask the BTMU to file a report on the system glitch based on the Banking Law.

If it surfaces that BTMU is responsible for the glitch and the bank's subsequent response to customers was inappropriate, the agency will look into issuing a business improvement order against the bank.

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