MSE News

HSBC and TSB face app problems

Callum Mason

News Reporter

27 September 2018

Both TSB and HSBC have reported problems with their apps this morning on what is payday for many.

Update 12pm Friday 28 September: HSBC says its issues were fixed by around 9am this morning, and that it is conducting an investigation into the cause of the issue. It adds that throughout the outage, customers were usually able to access the account after one or two attempts.

The first issues with HSBC's banking app were reported at around 7.45am this morning, and customers started noticing problems with TSB's app and online banking service around 15 minutes later.

The problems come after customers of Barclays, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank struggled to log in last week.

HSBC now says its service is "recovering" while TSB says it is "working hard" to fix its issues.

What are customers saying?

Many customers took to social media this morning to complain about issues:

@HSBC you having problems. We are all unable to use app pic.twitter.com/5ZMNBPzPYX
— Andy (@andywalker35) September 28, 2018

This is an absolute joke! No access via website, no transaction details on app. No wonder I am switching to First Direct!
— Tony Gibbs (@san_benito1) September 28, 2018

No access for me. Wait years for a decent app and then it doesn't work
— Tim Jordan (@tim_timbles) September 28, 2018

What do the banks say?

An HSBC UK spokesperson said: "We are aware there are still intermittent issues accessing HSBC UK mobile banking services.

"Services are recovering, but if a customer continues to experience problems they should continue to retry, or our online banking services are available via browser. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

A spokesperson for TSB said: "We're aware of an issue affecting some of our customers when they are using our mobile app and internet banking this morning. We are working hard to fix these issues and will update again as soon as we can.

"Customers are still able to use their cards as normal."

MoneySavingExpert.com news and features editor Steve Nowottny said: "Unfortunately we've seen a string of online banking outages in recent months – and while they're often short-lived, they can cause significant problems.

"As banks reduce the number of branches they have and customers increasingly manage their money online, being able to access your account is no longer a luxury but a necessity for many. This kind of disruption – particularly at the time of the month when many are getting paid – can cause real issues.

"If you are locked out of your account and run into problems as a result, for instance if you're unable to make a payment, make sure you itemise your losses and expenses and file a complaint to your bank, explaining how you've lost out."