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Fallover Friday: NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank go TITSUP*
British banking public biffed a day after Barclays blunder
Updated Online and mobile banking services from RBS Group subsidiaries NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Ulster Bank crashed at around 5am this morning and remain down.
Reports of the digital account blackout began surfacing on Downdetector early this morning (see here, here and here) and a mouthpiece at the Natwest ‘fessed up to the fallover Friday fiasco.
Hi there. We’re aware of some issues on our mobile app and online service and are working hard to fix them. Sorry and thanks for your patience. You can use our automated phone service for transfers, balances and statements. ST
— Royal Bank (@RBS_Help) September 21, 2018
The bank also confirmed it does not have an estimated time for the services to return to normal, apologised and assured customers they can still “use our telephone banking automated systems for some transactions”.
Not that everyone is happy with that solution - one Reg reader told us:
“Both app and online failing with temporary unavailability. App passes Touch ID then says it can’t connect me and to check my signal strength. Online confirms my signal strength by delivering me the unavailability message.”
Meanwhile, Ulster Bank told the Twitterati:
We’re aware of some issues on our Anytime and Mobile Banking services and are working hard to fix them. Telephone Banking and ATMs are available. Sorry and thanks for your patience.
— Ulster Bank Help (@UlsterBank_Help) September 21, 2018
Hundreds have flooded onto Twitter to complain.
#NatWest #RBS online & app not working but they say telephone banking is,,, 4 million people calling a few telephone lines trying to speak to someone. It’s that #FridayFeeling
— Lee Partridge (@LeePartridge15) September 21, 2018
Customers can also continue to withdraw cash for lunchtime snacks, after work beers or fun and festivities this evening. But for obvious reasons, many aren’t happy.
@RBS_Help we are an RBS customer. Your digital banking is down, which helpfully redirects us to your status page which is also offline. Why would you host your status page on the same system that it needs to report the status of?
— Product Forge (@ProductForge) September 21, 2018
It as only last week I was moaning about the level of queues, the atm machines being broken in the branch and the lack of staff to @RBS_Help (to which they were useless in their reply) and now this happens lol. #jokeofabank
— Keith Mitchell (@parrallax1) September 21, 2018
@RBS are shocking, close branches so can’t go into a branch anymore. App is down, what’s the point ?
— charlie gallagher (@chaz_gallagher) September 21, 2018
Pregnant and nearest branch is 3 towns away. Bloody brilliant customer service.
— Elle (@Elle18910782) September 21, 2018
NatWest’s banking app also fell over in April but only for an hour or so. As for RBS, it had a rich history in online banking uselessness: the bank has blamed the growth of internet banking for closing one in four branches. Only it then can’t manage to keep those web-based services up and running.
RBS revealed in summer ’17 that it was axing 900 IT jobs by 2020 and is outsourcing roles to India. The bank’s latest crash still has some way to go before it can match the big blackout of 2012, when The Register exclusively revealed that it had been an inexperienced techies who caused a massive meltdown.
Yesterday, Barclays’ customers’ online accounts were offline for hours and were finally yanked back online later in the day, though a technical explanation for the wobble has yet to be issued.®
* Total inability To Support Usual Payments
Updated at 1300 UTC
The systems appear to be back online.