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Banks Experience 5 IT Failures A Week, Study Reveals

By 9th December 2019Blog3 min read

Prioritising IT support could prove particularly useful for banks around the country, it would seem, given new analysis revealing that these institutions are experiencing five IT failures each and every week – with 265 IT shutdowns occurring overall across the main banks in the last 12 months.

An investigation carried out by consumer watchdog Which? found that millions of customers have been shut out of accounts and prevented from making payments, with 133 incidents linked to internet banking, 111 to mobile banking failures and 90 to telephone banking outages.

RBS and santander were found to suffer the most issues, experiencing 18 failures in total, followed by Barclays (17), Tesco Bank (116) and First Direct (15). But M&S Bank and Starling Bank both successfully navigated their way through an entire year without experiencing a single glitch.

A new report, Everyday Finances, from Which? has also revealed the banking habits of adults in the UK, with 22 per cent admitting that they lack the confidence to carry out basic banking tasks online.

Although banks are increasingly calling on their customers to start using internet banking more, 65 per cent believe they would find it hard to live their lives without having access to a physical branch of their bank. And some six in ten said they thought it was important to have access to a bank account without having to go online for it.

Commenting on the findings, head of money with the organisation Gareth Shaw said: “[They] show the industry is still failing to get to grips with alarmingly frequent banking glitches, which can cause real stress and frustration for millions of people left locked out of their account and struggling to make payments.

“In our nationwide survey, consumers have made it clear that cash is a vital back-up when digital systems fail – so it’s clear the next government should urgently introduce legislation to protect cash for as long as it is needed.”

Stephen Jones, chief executive at UK Finance, made further comments on the matter, saying when incidents such as the above do take place, companies work “around the clock” to get service up and running again with minimal disruption.

In addition, exercises are carried out sector-wide alongside regulators to ensure that the industry is prepared to respond properly and appropriately to any events or disruptions as part of its commitment to ensuring the resilience of the country’s financial system.

UK Finance – the collective voice for the banking and finance industry – is now engaging with government on how the coordination between regulatory authorities could be improved, with the aim being to avoid rushing changes through or introducing overlapping ones that could get in the way of banks’ abilities to afford their customers protection.

If you’re looking or help with IT support in the Doncaster area, get in touch with us today.