Barclays Banking App Faces Major IT Outage, Disrupting Online Services and Payments

Barclays Bank experienced a significant IT outage today, affecting its app, online banking platform, and payment systems. The disruption left customers unable to access their accounts or process transactions, coinciding with the end-of-month payday for many.

Reports of the outage began around 9:45 am, with over 1,200 users highlighting issues on platforms like DownDetector. Approximately 52% of complaints pertained to the mobile app, while 42% were related to internet banking access.

Barclays acknowledged the problem, stating, “We’re aware that some of our customers are experiencing problems using some features in our app, online banking, and with payments in and out of their accounts. We’re sorry for this and are working hard to fix the problem.”

This incident is not isolated; Barclays has faced similar outages in the past. In October 2023, the bank’s online services were inaccessible for several hours due to technical issues.

Additionally, in August 2024, a planned maintenance led to over 1,000 users reporting access problems.

The frequency of these disruptions has raised concerns among customers and regulators. A report from 2019 indicated that Barclays reported 33 IT incidents in a year, more than any other UK bank at the time.

As of now, Barclays has not provided a specific timeline for the restoration of services. Customers are advised to monitor official Barclays channels for updates and to contact customer service for urgent banking needs.

This event underscores the challenges banks face in maintaining reliable digital services and the significant impact outages can have on consumers and businesses alike.