RBS, NatWest, and Ulster Bank are currently grappling with significant disruptions to their online and app platforms, leaving some customers unable to access ATMs.
Since around five a.m. this morning, customers of the banking group have reported issues with the digital services. Initial reports suggested that only NatWest, owned by RBS, was affected, but it soon became apparent that the outage was widespread across the RBS banking group.
An RBS spokesman acknowledged the problem, stating, “We are aware that customers are experiencing issues and are working to fix it. Customers can still use ATMs and telephone banking or visit their local branch.” Meanwhile, a statement on social media from NatWest echoed this sentiment, assuring customers that efforts were underway to resolve the issue.
However, some customers reported being unable to use their cards at ATMs. Paul Murphy voiced his frustrations to the BBC, expressing, “This is just what you need as the weekend approaches and bills to pay.” Similarly, Jess Cochrane shared her predicament, “It’s payday, I can’t transfer my wage to the joint account all the bills come out of, I have no card and no branch near me.”
RBS Chief Executive Ross McEwan discussed the issue on LBC radio, admitting that the exact cause of the problems was still unknown. He stated, “We’re still working through what the issue is. We make a lot of changes to our technology on an ongoing basis, it may be related to that, but we just don’t know at this point.”
The banking group has faced similar digital issues in the past. Last year, their apps experienced disruptions, and just recently, Barclays customers were unable to access their online accounts for several hours. Another notable incident earlier this year involved a major meltdown for TSB, ultimately leading to the resignation of Chief Executive Paul Pester.
Hannah Maundrell, editor of money.co.uk, voiced concerns about the frequency of these occurrences, stating, “Banks really need to pull their socks up because this keeps happening. It’s really not good enough when so many customers are being encouraged to bank online.” Additionally, The Co-operative Bank and FinTech firm Cashplus have also experienced service disruptions this week.
These recurring digital outages underline the need for banks to ensure robust and reliable online services, especially as more customers are encouraged to bank digitally.