Thousands of customers of HSBC faces outage

Thousands of HSBC customers in the UK experienced an outage on Friday, November 24, 2023, they were unable to access some mobile and online banking services, the latest in a long-running series of such problems for British banks.

The disruption prevented users from checking account balances, making transfers, and authorizing online card purchases, causing inconvenience especially during the busy Black Friday shopping period.

Website Downdetector which tracks service outages reported complaints began shortly after 0700 GMT and peaked at more than 4,000 by 0900, with hundreds of customers still complaining of issues by 1600 GMT.

HSBC acknowledged the issue and apologized for the disruption, attributing it to an internal systems problem. They assured customers that their teams were working diligently to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. While some customers reported regaining access to online banking later in the day, the outage persisted for many into the evening.

HSBC acknowledged the problems. A spokesperson for the bank said, we’re working hard to restore HSBC UK’s Mobile and Online Banking service, including the authorising of online card purchases via the app.

"We understand this is really frustrating for some of our customers, and we are really sorry for the inconvenience." The problems are the result of an "internal system issue," the spokesperson said.

The incident highlights the reliance on digital banking services and the potential impact of outages on individuals and businesses. It serves as a reminder of the importance of having alternative methods for accessing financial information and conducting transactions in the event of such disruptions.