- By Tom Gerken & Liv McMahon
- Technology reporters
Image source, Getty Images
HSBC has apologised as thousands of UK customers have reported they are unable to access mobile and online banking.
Downdetector, which tracks websites, showed more than 4,100 people reported they could not access HSBC services.
The problem comes on Black Friday, a day when many will make purchases due to the discounts offered by retailers.
The bank said the outage meant customers could not authorise card payments via the app, and it was “really sorry for the inconvenience”.
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter cookie policy and privacy policy before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
End of Twitter content, 1
It said it was working hard to restore the services and told the BBC the disruption was due to “an internal system issue”.
“It is impacting HSBC UK customers only – there is no impact to First Direct or M&S Bank customers,” it said.
Marius Acsinte, 34, told the BBC his HSBC account was unavailable, causing him several problems.
“I’m not able to open the app to pay my rent due today,” he said.
“I was expecting the bank would send a message or an email explaining why, but instead I had to find out online.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Black Friday tonight or not, I’m not able to use my money and nobody informed me about why that’s happening.”
HSBC has around 14.8 million customers across the UK. Though it is unknown how many of these customers use mobile and online banking, the firm estimates that nine out of 10 transactions at the bank are made digitally.
Users on X, formerly Twitter, responded to HSBC UK’s post on the platform with complaints – some saying they were unable to verify payments for Black Friday purchases or settle bills on payday.
Some users on social media have also called on the bank to update its service status page offering information to customers about the availability of digital services like online, mobile and phone banking.
Throughout the morning, the page was indicating no issues with access to any of its services, instead claiming mobile, phone and online banking were “operating normally”.
“It’s the lack of communication from the start of the issue that’s most worrying. You haven’t even updated your own service website. I’ll definitely be moving some of my funds due to the poor communication,” wrote one person.
Reports of the outage were first made at 07:00 GMT on Friday, according to Downdetector, with thousands of reports coming in by 08:00.
The exact number of people affected is unclear, because users must have a reason to check their online banking app to know if it is working.
Additional reporting by Osob Elmi.
How have you been affected by HSBC mobile banking going down? Tell us your story by emailing: [email protected].
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
If you are reading this page and can’t see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at [email protected]. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.
