Barclays bank working to update balances after tech outage

Barclays has said the “technical issue” impacting payments and transactions for customers has been resolved, but is still working on updating bank balances for some customers.

The bank said delayed payments had been processed but that it was still “addressing any outstanding issues”, following days of disruption.

On Friday when the outage began, customers told the BBC they were having trouble with mobile and online banking, and also making essential payments.

The technical issues were not caused a cyber attack, it is understood, but the bank has not explained what was behind the problem or how many customers were affected.

“We are very sorry for any disruption and will ensure that no impacted customer is left out of pocket,” a Barclays spokesperson said on Sunday.

“We are keeping our call centres open for longer this weekend and we will be proactively contacting customers who may be vulnerable.”

The bank said account balances would all be updated by the end of Sunday and that its services were back up and running as normal.

However, reports on the website downdetector, which monitors outages, were still in their hundreds early on Sunday, with most people experiencing problems with mobile and online banking.

Some customers on X also replied to Barclays saying they were still facing problems and asking for compensation.

Dave, 69 from Plymouth, told the BBC on Sunday that a problem with automatic money transfers not going through had resulted in him being overdrawn.

“Currently, there’s not enough in my current account to pay a card bill tomorrow, all because of this issue,” he said.

Another customer told the BBC that none of his scheduled payments from the 1 February had been made, and a £500 receipt had not arrived either.

Michaela, 38, from Sheffield criticised the communication updates from Barclays, saying they had been “really poor”.

“I eventually received my late payment but I still can’t use my debit card,” she said.

“Communication from Barclays has been non-existent until yesterday, a pop up in the app saying sorry and not to try and send payments more than once if an error message comes up,” she said.

Barclays is one of the UK’s largest banks, with more than 20 million UK retail customers.

On Saturday, downdetector showed nearly 5,000 issues had been reported with Barclays, more than double the number reported on Friday.

On Saturday afternoon, Barclays’ website said problems with its app and online banking were ongoing, and warned customers that they may face issues making and receiving payments.

Friday, which was pay day for many people in the UK, was the deadline for self-assessment tax returns.

Some Barclays’ customers said they were unable to make their payments to HMRC.

A statement from HMRC said it was working closely with the bank to minimise the impact on those submitting self-assessments.

It confirmed that issues related to the Barclays outage would not result in late payment penalties as these do not apply until March 1.

On X, the bank advised customers facing difficulties accessing their money to seek support from friends and family or to get in touch with food banks.

In response to one user who said they were unable to access their account, the bank posted a link to the Trussell Trust, a charity which runs food banks nationally.

Emily from Exeter told the BBC that she was spending the weekend on a friend’s sofa after being unable to move into her new house.

“I’m effectively homeless with my two children and two cats,” she said, adding that her children were staying with family.

“My removal van is abandoned with everything I have in it,” the 44-year-old said.

“I’m a single mother who has worked incredibly hard for this and to be left homeless is indescribable.”