Customers report Westpac and St George Bank outage: 'Christmas week and we can’t get our money'
By
VanessaC
- Replies 41
In an era where digital banking has become a norm, imagine the frustration of not being able to access your own money due to a system outage.
This was the reality for thousands of Westpac and St George Bank customers who found themselves locked out of their online banking services for several hours.
On a Monday morning, more than 2600 people reported Westpac's service as down, according to DownDetector.
Customers were met with a blank screen when opening the app, and others were unable to log into their online banking.
'Your system is down again. Not just the app. Christmas week, and we can't get our money. I'm done,' one customer vented online.
Another echoed the sentiment, saying, 'It's down again. Merry Christmas from Westpac.'
St George Bank customers were not spared either, with hundreds reporting similar issues.
The banks were aware of the outage, as they posted updates on their social media platforms stating: 'We’re aware that customers are experiencing intermittent issues… Our teams are working to fix the issue.'
You can read Westpac’s statement below:
Source: X/@Westpac.
'We're sorry for the inconvenience and will continue to share updates here,' the banks said.
You can also read St George Bank’s statement below:
Source: X/@StGeorgeBank.
By 2.40 pm, the banks confirmed their services were back up and running again.
'Our online, mobile and telephone banking services are working as usual for customers,' they announced on social media.
'We're sorry for the disruption, and thank you for your patience during this time.'
These outages come after Natalie Barr expressed her concerns about Australia’s move towards a cashless society.
Barr cited the Optus outage in November, which left millions of Australians without phone and internet connectivity.
This resulted in many small businesses being unable to accept payments as they relied on EFTPOS linked to the telco.
While such outages are not uncommon, with Telstra experiencing a similar issue in May and Westpac Bank going offline just last week, they cause issues in the everyday lives of their customers.
These incidents also highlight the vulnerabilities of a digital-only economy. If there is no circulating cash, a simple network disruption could have far-reaching consequences.
You can read more about this here.
Have you ever been affected by a banking outage? How did you manage the situation? Share your experiences in the comments below.
This was the reality for thousands of Westpac and St George Bank customers who found themselves locked out of their online banking services for several hours.
On a Monday morning, more than 2600 people reported Westpac's service as down, according to DownDetector.
Customers were met with a blank screen when opening the app, and others were unable to log into their online banking.
'Your system is down again. Not just the app. Christmas week, and we can't get our money. I'm done,' one customer vented online.
Another echoed the sentiment, saying, 'It's down again. Merry Christmas from Westpac.'
St George Bank customers were not spared either, with hundreds reporting similar issues.
The banks were aware of the outage, as they posted updates on their social media platforms stating: 'We’re aware that customers are experiencing intermittent issues… Our teams are working to fix the issue.'
You can read Westpac’s statement below:
Source: X/@Westpac.
'We're sorry for the inconvenience and will continue to share updates here,' the banks said.
You can also read St George Bank’s statement below:
Source: X/@StGeorgeBank.
By 2.40 pm, the banks confirmed their services were back up and running again.
'Our online, mobile and telephone banking services are working as usual for customers,' they announced on social media.
'We're sorry for the disruption, and thank you for your patience during this time.'
These outages come after Natalie Barr expressed her concerns about Australia’s move towards a cashless society.
Barr cited the Optus outage in November, which left millions of Australians without phone and internet connectivity.
This resulted in many small businesses being unable to accept payments as they relied on EFTPOS linked to the telco.
While such outages are not uncommon, with Telstra experiencing a similar issue in May and Westpac Bank going offline just last week, they cause issues in the everyday lives of their customers.
These incidents also highlight the vulnerabilities of a digital-only economy. If there is no circulating cash, a simple network disruption could have far-reaching consequences.
You can read more about this here.
Key Takeaways
- Westpac and St George Bank experienced an outage affecting their online banking, mobile app, and phone banking services.
- Customers reported issues such as being greeted with a blank screen and being unable to log in to their accounts.
- Over 2600 people reported the Westpac outage on DownDetector, indicating widespread disruption.
- The banks resolved the issue by the afternoon and apologised for the inconvenience caused to their customers.