In light of this information, Which? is calling for the next government to protect cash as a vital backup.

Which? has analysed data collected by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and found that in the last year, the main UK banks suffered 265 IT shutdowns that have prevented customers from making payments.

The 265 IT glitches involved 133 incidents involving internet banking,111 mobile banking failures and 90 telephone banking outages. A glitch can often occur on more than one of these systems at the same time, but is counted as a single incident.

Some single incidents may have affected customers at more than one bank. This means the total number of unique incidents, as defined by the FCA is likely to be fewer than 265.

The Which? analysis found that RBS and Santander customers endured the most IT glitches last year – with both banks suffering 18 failures. This is followed by Barclays (17), Tesco Bank (16) and First Direct (15).

At the other end of the table, Starling Bank and M&S Bank both impressively went a whole year without a single glitch.

The FCA figures come after another turbulent week for TSB, which saw the bank faced with another systems issue that prevented customers from receiving payments.

The bank had made public the report into last year’s IT meltdown that dragged on for months and left 1.9 million customers shut out of their accounts. However, TSB suffered fewer glitches than many of its rivals, with only six in the last year.

The findings come as Which? launches a major new report – Everyday Finances – that reveals the nation’s banking habits and the challenges we face in protecting people’s everyday access to banking and payments.

The report found nine in 10 people believe it is important that cash is preserved as a vital backup when digital systems fail. It also found that 11 million adults (22%) lack the confidence to do basic banking tasks online, despite the rapid transition to digital services and countless people having lost access to their local branch through branch closures.

Although banks are increasingly encouraging customers to move online, the research found that appetite for access to traditional banking remains strong – with two thirds (65%) stating that they would find it difficult to live their life without having access to a branch – at a time when the industry is carrying out widespread branch closures across the UK.

In fact, Which? discovered that three-quarters of the population (75%) think everyday banking services should effectively be considered as a utility – as essential to the way they live their lives as having gas, electricity or water running in their homes.

Some 8.4 million (17%) people said they prefer to bank at a branch, which is perhaps unsurprising when the latest IT failures simply highlight how the industry cannot guarantee reliable online services.

Gareth Shaw, head of money at Which?, said: “These findings show the industry is still failing to get to grips with alarmingly frequent banking glitches, which can cause real stress and frustration for millions of people left locked out of their account and struggling to make payments.

“In our nationwide survey, consumers have made it clear that cash is a vital back-up when digital systems fail – so it’s clear the next government should urgently introduce legislation to protect cash for as long as it is needed.”