A major Google Cloud outage has disrupted banking services, delivery companies and court proceedings across the UK. Customers of Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Lloyds, Halifax, Revolut, Royal Mail and DPD have reported problems, while video hearings in courts throughout England and Wales have also been affected.
Google Confirms Cloud Platform Issues
Google confirmed the issue, which began on Monday evening, is causing errors and sporadic network failures across its Cloud platform. "Our engineering team continues to investigate the issue," Google said. "We apologise to all who are affected by the disruption."
The Bank of Scotland app has been down, with a spokesperson saying: "We're aware some customers are having issues with our app and online. We're sorry about this and are working hard to fix it."
Court Video Platform Crashes
The Cloud Video Platform (CVP), used by courts throughout England and Wales, crashed on Tuesday morning in what is thought to be connected to the outage. The platform, relied upon by solicitors, defendants and other parties, has been down, disrupting remote court proceedings and sparking fears many will be postponed or cancelled, reports Wales Online.
Revolut's online banking customers have also experienced service disruption, with the fintech company flagging problems affecting card payments, transfers, cash withdrawals and account logins. More than 1,500 customers reported difficulties with Revolut during Tuesday morning, based on reports to the Downdetector platform.
Experts Warn of Infrastructure Dependence
Marijus Briedis, Chief Technology Officer at NordVPN, said: "When a cloud outage leaves people unable to make payments or access everyday services, it exposes how much we depend on infrastructure we never see. As Google is one of the world's biggest technology companies, disruption to its cloud services can also affect businesses whose customers may have no idea they depend on Google at all."
He added: "For everyday Google users, this dependence can mean several services they rely on suddenly being unavailable at the same time. Someone unable to pay through one banking app may find their alternative is affected too. Keeping a second payment option can help, although using a different bank does not guarantee it relies on different technology."
Briedis also noted that banks, retailers and delivery companies may look like separate businesses, but behind the scenes many rely on the same handful of technology providers. He said: "For businesses, the lesson is not that the cloud is unreliable, but that using a major provider does not remove the responsibility to prepare for disruption. Critical services need tested arrangements to switch to another system when something goes wrong."
Revolut and Other Firms Respond
A Revolut spokesperson said: "We are currently experiencing a service disruption affecting multiple services. We can confirm that all our customers' money and data are safe. We've been working to fix the issue since it was identified this morning and apologise to anyone affected and for any inconvenience caused."
Hundreds using Lloyds Bank and HSBC also logged complaints on Downdetector, alongside services including Royal Mail, DPD and Rightmove. Budgeting application Emma informed users it had gone offline due to the Google Cloud disruption, stating on X: "Emma is currently down due to a Google Cloud outage affecting services in London since 7am. This is a technical outage, not a security issue. We're monitoring closely and will update here as soon as the app is back. Sorry for the disruption."
Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group, acknowledged on X that it was "aware some customers are having issues with our app and online", adding: "We're sorry about this and are working hard to fix it."
