Startled Butterfield Bank customers found themselves short of money yesterday after the company suffered a major Internet banking glitch.Thousands of bill payments and money transfers were duplicated in customer accounts.Butterfield Bank said yesterday it had identified the duplicate transactions and was in the process of reversing the error.Confirming the glitch, a Bank spokesperson said: “Due to an issue with the processing of an electronic file (on Tuesday night), payment transactions initiated by customers using the Butterfield Direct Internet banking service, were posted to customers’ accounts twice.“Bill payments, internal transfers and transfers between Butterfield and other Bermuda banks were duplicated. Wire transfers were not affected. Payment transactions initiated by customers in our Banking Centres or using Telephone Banking were not affected.”The bank said affected customers’ accounts will be credited for the duplicate transactions and any lost interest and any associated fees will be reversed.“Customers will see the returned funds in their accounts (on Thursday),” the spokesperson said, adding, “Butterfield regrets the error and apologises for any inconvenience. Should customers have questions or concerns, they may contact the Bank directly on 295-1111.”The bank said the glitch affected essentially anyone who initiated an outgoing payment (not including wires) using Butterfield Direct on Tuesday. That amounted to about 5,000 transactions, the bank said.The problem comes as the bank prepares to roll out its new Butterfield Online service, touted as “the next generation of Internet banking from Butterfield”.