Customers across various banks are facing online banking issues again this payday, marking the second month in a row. Just two days before this latest frustration, MPs were supposed to receive a report detailing how IT failures have impacted banks over the last two years.
At the end of January, Barclays Bank customers experienced a major IT outage that left them without access to online and app banking for three days. Now, similar issues have arisen for customers of Lloyds Bank, Nationwide, TSB, and Halifax. Outage monitoring service Downdetector has confirmed these disruptions.
An IT professional from the banking sector, who wished to remain nameless, suggested that when multiple banks face outages at the same time, it likely indicates a shared issue. He explained, “If many banks are struggling simultaneously, there must be a common factor, like shared software or a supplier. It’s unlikely they’d all go down independently on the same day.” He also pointed out that banks typically avoid making IT changes at the month’s end, as it can lead to chaos in accounting and other systems. “They don’t want to risk tech failures at a critical time like month-end accounting,” he said.
In contrast, he believes Barclays’ recent problems stem from an internal change rather than an external factor. This fresh round of issues arises right after a deadline set by the Treasury Committee for UK bank leaders to share insights on IT failures over the last two years. Barclays was asked about the cause and impact of its latest outage as well as steps to prevent future occurrences.
The other eight banks were required to report on how many times their services have been down, how many customers were affected, the compensation given out, and the reasons behind these failures.
Commenting on Barclays’ ongoing issues, Treasury Committee chair Meg Hillier said, “When a bank’s IT system crashes, it creates serious problems for our constituents who need access to essential services for purchasing food or paying bills. This incident at Barclays, especially at such a critical time, raises questions about whether it’s bad luck or mismanagement. It’s crucial to understand what happened and how they plan to fix it.”
She also highlighted the impact of declining high street branches on customers: “As more branches close, IT outages affect customers even more. That’s why I’ve reached out to some of the largest banks and building societies.”