Santander: is online banking and app login down in UK - bank customers hit by fresh service outage and issues

• Santander customers are facing issues accessing accounts, affecting mobile, telephone, and card services
• The bank acknowledged the problem and is working to resolve it, with cash machines and online banking unaffected
• Complaints about payment problems began around 12pm on March 6, with many users reporting login and transaction issues
• This incident adds to ongoing disruptions across major UK banks, with over 33 days of unplanned outages in the past two years
• Barclays has also faced outages, and is offering up to £12.5 million in compensation for recent tech failures

Thousands of a major UK bank’s customers have been unable to access their accounts due to issues affecting several of its services.

In response to complaints on social media, Santander acknowledged the problem, saying that it was "aware" some customers are "currently unable to access certain services" and apologising for the disruption.

According to the bank’s website, disruptions are affecting mobile banking, telephone banking, branch network services, and card payments.

Santander said it is working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible, but confirmed that cash machines and online banking remain operational.

(Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Service status website Downdetector reported that customers started experiencing issues with Santander’s services around 12pm on Thursday (March 6), with over half of the complaints related to payment problems.

On social media, users reported various issues, including being unable to log into their accounts or the app, as well as problems with making payments or transferring funds.

In a message on the Santander website, the bank said: “We are currently facing intermittent issues making payments that we are working hard to resolve.

“If you face issues please try again, and in case of continuing failures please use Online Banking in the meantime.”

The bank issued similar updates regarding its telephone banking, branch services, and card payments, and stated it would provide additional information to customers through its website and social media channels.

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Why are there so many bank outages?

This latest incident adds to a growing number of outages among the UK's major banks.

According to data released by the Treasury Committee on Thursday (March 6), over the past two years, the UK's top nine banks and building societies have experienced more than 33 days of unplanned technical and system outages.

Experts have warned that both the banking sector and regulators are struggling to integrate modern technology into their large, complex, and often outdated systems.

The latest news comes as Barclays said it could hand its customers up to £12.5 million for technology outages over the past two years, according to a new letter to MPs.

A major outage at Barclays in late January caused days of disruption, coinciding with payday for many workers and the self-assessment tax return deadline. Barclays said that during the incident, more than half of all online payment attempts failed.

The bank estimates it will pay between £5 million and £7.5 million in compensation for this specific outage, in addition to around £5 million for other incidents between January 2023 and January 2025.

Have you experienced issues with your Santander account or other bank services recently? We’d love to hear your thoughts and any challenges you’ve faced. Share your experiences in the comments section.