Thousands of ANZ bank clients were unable to use their accounts on Monday evening when the bank’s systems began to malfunction. The issue continued for several hours and left customers without access to their funds or the ability to make payments.
The problems began around 12:30 pm Australian time when customers started complaining on social media and on an outage-tracking website. Individuals attempting to access the ANZ app or access internet banking received error messages instead.
An ANZ spokesperson said at 2:30 pm that the bank had fixed the problem. The outage lasted about two hours, during which many customers were stuck without access to their accounts at an inconvenient time.
Customers Complained on Social Media
During the outage, angry customers took to social media to share their frustration. One person said they could not pay for groceries after finishing their shopping because the app was not working.
“I can’t pay after my shop at Coles, I can’t access my ANZ app,” one customer complained on social media. One person explained that they were fortunate to have had cash on hand when the system crashed.
The bank’s mistake message informed customers that they were working to resolve the problem as soon as possible. It also explained that ANZ cash points and card payment machines were still operational while the problem existed, so people could continue to get cash out or pay with cards in shops.
Bank Says Sorry for the Trouble
In a press release issued after the issue had been resolved, an ANZ spokesperson apologized to customers. The bank stated that individuals might have been unable to access some services such as the mobile app and internet banking for a temporary period that afternoon.
“We apologize for any inconvenience,” said the spokesperson. The bank did not state what was the technical issue or provide information on how many individuals were affected. There were thousands of reports received when the systems were offline for two hours. The outage site Down Detector recorded a surge in complaints from ANZ customers in the afternoon.
May Be Relatable to Larger Internet Issue
It is unknown whether the ANZ issue was related to a much broader internet disruption that occurred overnight. On Monday evening, Amazon Web Services experienced a major technical glitch that took out several hundred websites and applications across the globe.
That larger outage hit popular sites such as Snapchat, Roblox, Fortnite and Duolingo. Issues started around 6 pm and persisted for over an hour in most cases. Some services took even longer to recover. ANZ would not comment on whether their issue was connected with the Amazon problem or if it was a separate technical glitch on their systems.
Banks Under Pressure to Remain Online
This blackout indicates just how reliant individuals are on being able to look at their bank accounts whenever they want online. When systems fail, even for a short time of a few hours, it creates real issues for consumers attempting to conduct their normal lives.
Banks have to keep their systems up and running because so many people use apps and online banking rather than going into a branch. If technical issues arise, customers can easily get annoyed, particularly if they have urgent payments to make or need to check their balance.
ANZ is one of Australia’s four biggest banks and has millions of clients nationwide. Any disruption to the bank’s systems is capable of affecting a lot of people attempting to deal with their money. The bank told customers services are now running normally again and they should be able to use all their normal banking functions through the app and internet banking.
News At Glance
- ANZ bank services crashed at 12:30 pm leaving thousands without access to accounts
- It lasted approximately two hours as services were back by 2:30 pm
- Customers reported that they could not pay for shopping or download the mobile app
- Card payment terminals and cash machines remained operational during the glitch
- It is not clear whether the glitch was connected to Monday evening’s Amazon Web Services outage
FAQs
- Were customers able to access their bank cards during the disruption?
Yes, ANZ stated that their card payment terminals at stores and ATMs remained operational. Only the app and online banking were out.
- How long was the disruption?
The issue began at around 12:30 pm and was resolved by 2:30 pm, which is approximately a two-hour disruption for impacted customers.
- Did ANZ state what went wrong?
No, the bank did not describe what caused the technical problem in their customer statement. They merely apologized for the trouble.
- Was this related to the Amazon outage on Monday night?
Whether the ANZ issue was associated with the broader Amazon Web Services issue that occurred the previous night is not known.
- What are customers to do if they are still unable to access their accounts?
ANZ said all services are functioning normally. Customers who still encounter issues should call the bank directly via their customer service line.
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