Barclays customers faced significant disruption on Saturday, March 8, 2023, as the bank’s online banking app experienced another technical outage. The issues began around 7 am GMT, preventing users from accessing their accounts or completing payment transactions. Complaints surged on social media, with outage monitoring site DownDetector reporting a spike of over 1,000 complaints from affected customers.

Many users expressed their frustration on the X social media platform. One account holder posted, “Barclays is down AGAIN? Can’t access any of my money or make any payments.” Another user lamented, “Is anyone else’s Barclays app down? Not what I need when I’m in a different country!” The discontent echoed broadly, with numerous customers signalling intentions to switch banks in light of the repeated outages. A user processing the situation after holding an account for 16 years stated, “Think it’s finally time to leave Barclays.”

The bank acknowledged the outage. A spokesperson from Barclays stated in an interview with The Express, “Customers are currently experiencing issues making payments in our app and when using online banking. Customers can still use their cards and withdraw cash. We’re working hard to fix the issue and apologise for the inconvenience caused. As soon as it’s resolved, we’ll let our customers know.”

This latest disruption follows a troubling history of service failures for Barclays. Earlier in the week, the bank was reported to be preparing to pay up to £7.5 million in compensation to customers affected by a previous major outage that took place from January 31 to February 2. That incident hindered 56% of attempts to process online payments. The recent spate of technical problems, which has seen Barclays listed among other major financial institutions experiencing significant outages, has provoked backlash from its customers.

The ongoing technical failures highlight a broader concern regarding banking reliability in the UK. In a letter to the Treasury Select Committee, Barclays mentioned that they anticipated their total compensation payments could reach £12.5 million, a costly response to what has become a series of persistent service disruptions over the past two years. Reports indicate that across the sector, notable banks and building societies have collectively endured over 33 days of unplanned outages.

Dame Meg Hillier MP, the chair of the Treasury Select Committee, expressed concern over the impact of these outages on everyday customers, particularly those living paycheck to paycheck. She remarked that losing access to banking services on payday could provoke panic among individuals reliant on timely access to their funds.

As Barclays seeks to address the ongoing issues, customers continue to voice their dissatisfaction, prompting fears of a mass exodus from the bank as they consider alternative banking options following these disruptions.

Source: Noah Wire Services