Santander has fixed the problems affecting its banking services after many customers were left unable to access their accounts. The bank apologised for any “inconvenience caused” and assured customers that no one would be left out of pocket as a result of the outages.
Some customers were unable to make payments or transfer between accounts. According to its website, the bank experienced technical difficulties with mobile and telephone banking, as well as within its branch network and with card payments. Online banking remained available as normal.
A Santander spokesperson said: “We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused this afternoon while we fixed the problems affecting some of our banking services. These have now been restored and are working normally. We’d like to thank our customers for their patience and can reassure them that any customer financially impacted will not be left out of pocket.”
Customers vented their frustration on social media, with one reporting being unable to make payments or transfers on the app, and another claiming the outage left them stranded. The service status website Downdetector recorded over 600 reports starting at midday on Thursday, with more than half flagging payment issues.
The outage follows recent widespread disruption at other major UK banks, including TSB, Nationwide, First Direct, and Lloyds Banking Group. Data from the Treasury Committee revealed that nine of the UK’s biggest banks have experienced over 33 days of unplanned tech outages in the last two years. Barclays expects to pay between £5m and £7.5m in compensation for earlier disruptions, while NatWest and HSBC have also paid out significant sums.
