Sumitomo Mitsui system failure hits many ATMs in western Japan

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp said Tuesday that automated teller machines were unavailable at 50 locations, mainly in Hyogo and Osaka prefectures in western Japan, due to a system failure.

The cause of the disruption, which started around 1:20 a.m., is under investigation, the banking arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. said, adding, "We deeply apologize for the inconvenience and concern the incident has caused."

Customers with accounts at affected branches can make temporary cash withdrawals at other designated locations by bringing their cash cards and identification such as a driver's license, the bank said.

The bank is planning to switch to a new accounting system over two days from Sunday, but a public relations official said the outage was not related.