NatWest bank hit by major IT outage

NatWest bank is facing widespread customer frustration after its mobile banking app experienced a significant IT outage today, preventing thousands from accessing their accounts.

Over 3,000 problems have been reported on the outage-tracking site Downdetector since issues began at 09:10 GMT.

A NatWest spokesperson confirmed the disruption to the BBC, stating: “We are aware that customers are experiencing difficulties accessing the NatWest mobile banking app this morning. We’re really sorry about this and working to fix it as quickly as possible.”

While the bank’s service status website claimed online banking was unaffected, some customers disputed this, reporting issues with the online service as well. Card payments, however, remained operational.

The outage left numerous customers unable to conduct essential transactions. Frustrated individuals took to social media, with one user lamenting having to “put back my shopping” and another unable to transfer money to shop. NatWest advised customers to use online banking if possible, but offered no timeframe for a fix, stating only that its team was “working hard” to resolve the problem.

The incident marks the latest in a series of recurring IT failures across the UK banking sector. Earlier reports in May indicated that 1.2 million people were affected by banking outages in 2024.

Furthermore, a March report revealed that nine major banks and building societies have collectively experienced approximately 803 hours of tech outages since 2023. These disruptions not only inconvenience customers but also incur significant costs for the banks themselves, with NatWest having paid £348,000 in compensation over outages since 2023.

Says Jenny Ross, Which? Money Editor:

“Banks are encouraging more and more of us to rely on apps to do our essential banking, so when these go down it can be devastating. In the worst cases there’s a risk that impacted NatWest customers may miss important bill payments, find themselves unable to pay for essential services or risk going overdrawn – issues which could come with knock-on effects like late payment or overdraft penalties, or affect their ability to get credit or borrow money.

“NatWest must ensure customers are kept updated and are swiftly compensated where appropriate. Anyone affected should keep evidence of impacted payments in case they need to make a claim, and if you think you’ll be unable to pay a bill, contact the company involved as soon as possible to ensure they’re aware and will waive any late payment fees.”