Online banking for Halifax, Lloyds and Bank of Scotland appears to have gone down leaving thousands of customers unable to access their accounts.
People across the country have reported seeing “N/A” displayed, instead of their available funds, the Mirror reports. The issue is affecting people who use Halifax, Lloyds and Bank of Scotland- part of the Lloyds Banking Group, online tool Downdetector suggests.
A large number of people started reporting issues around 10.30am. One frustrated customer said: "Annoying to find out Lloyds' online platform is down and account balances not available and showing as N/A.
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"Called helpline to confirm who suggested calling back later but money is in the account, you just cannot see it! Not exactly helpful."
Another added: "Hey @LloydsBank I can't see my bank account on my app and need to pay my credit card today. Are you aware?" Another frustrated user said: "I've just logged on and it's not showing anything for my accounts, just saying that something went wrong and they can't show details at this time. Trying to call but apparently the phone operators are 'extremely busy'. Please help."
Replying to users' concerns, Lloyds' official Twitter account suggested people log out of their accounts and back in again to see if it made a difference. They also suggested using a different platform to check accounts on.
The response left many nonplussed as they suggested the issue was bigger than a problem which can be solved by turning something on and off again. One said: "I think you are underestimating the scale of the problem. Whatever your escalation policy is, I think you need to start using it."
Several frustrated people have reported long wait times to talk to bank agents as they wait to access their money.
A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson said: “We know some of our customers had issues accessing mobile and online banking for a short time this morning. We're sorry about this and both our website and app are now back to normal.”
It comes as it was announced Lloyds, Bank of Scotland and Halifax are to close 60 bank branches across the UK as people move to online banking. Parent company Lloyds Banking Group said the decision was made as the number of customers now using online banking reached an all-time high this year.
Lloyds says it now has 18.6 million regular online banking customers and over 15 million mobile app users. These have increased 12% and 27% respectively in the last two years. The high street lender said Banking Hubs have been recommended in the towns of Buckingham, Cottingham, and Troon by leading cash machine company LINK.
Banking Hubs have a traditional banking counter, run by the Post Office, where customers can deposit and withdraw cash, pay-in cheques and check balances. The full list of branches that are closing include 24 Lloyds Bank, 19 Bank of Scotland and 17 Halifax banks.
Vim Maru, group retail director, Lloyds Banking Group said: “Just like many other high street businesses, fewer customers are choosing to visit our branches. Our branch network is an important way for us to support our customers, but we need to adapt to the significant growth in customers choosing to do most of their everyday banking online.”
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