NatWest Apologizes for Online Banking Issues
NatWest has issued an apology after customers experienced difficulties accessing their bank accounts following the removal of the mobile banking app in the UK.
More than 3,000 reports were logged on an outage detection site as problems began around 09:10 GMT.
The bank stated on its service status page that online banking was operational, although many customers disputed this. It’s worth noting that card payments remained unaffected.
A NatWest spokesperson acknowledged the issue, saying, “We recognize the difficulty for customers accessing the NatWest mobile banking app this morning.” They added, “I’m really sorry about this; we’re working to fix it as soon as possible.”
Many customers took to social media to express their frustration, describing how the IT malfunction impacted them. One user commented, “You have to shop before you go shopping,” while another lamented they were unable to send money for shopping.
NatWest informed users that there was “no time slot” for when the issues might be resolved, but assured them that their team was “working hard” on the problem. They also encouraged customers to access their accounts through other means, if possible.
However, several users reported difficulties with NatWest’s online services as well. Some shared the error messages they received when trying to make payments, showing the system’s struggles.
Others voiced their dissatisfaction with the bank’s response. “What I don’t understand is why banks are closing branches to save money and pushing customers to use apps and online banking… but they’re not investing in a system that functions properly,” one frustrated customer pointed out.
Ongoing Issues
This incident marks the latest in a series of banking outages. Recently, reports indicated that in May alone, 12 million customers in the UK faced disruptions.
A March report suggested that nine major banks experienced the equivalent of 33 days of service interruptions since 2023. Such outages are not just inconvenient; they also have financial implications for banks.
The Commons Finance Committee indicated that Barclays, for example, might face compensation costs amounting to £12.5 million. In comparison, during the same timeframe, NatWest paid £348,000, while HSBC and Lloyds incurred costs of £232,697 and £160,000, respectively.
Other banks reported smaller amounts in payments due to similar issues.
