Westpac apologises as digital banking outage disrupts thousands

Westpac’s online banking outage on Sunday left thousands unable to access funds, sparking widespread frustration and forcing the bank to apologise amid growing criticism over digital reliability.

The outage has put a spotlight on the growing dependency on digital banking and the challenges banks face in maintaining reliable online services.

Westpac customers faced significant inconvenience on Sunday as the bank’s online and mobile banking services went down, leaving many unable to access their funds.

The issue impacted thousands of users nationally and sparked frustration and concern, with some customers voicing grievances on Westpac’s Facebook page.

The bank acknowledged the issue through an online post but, on Sunday morning, were yet to provide an official statement on the cause of the outage or a timeline for when services would be fully restored.

“We’re aware that customers are experiencing issues accessing online and mobile banking,” the bank’s media department said.

“Our teams are working to fix the issue. We’re sorry for the inconvenience and will continue to share updates on Facebook.”

Westpac’s social media post quickly attracted attention, with hundreds of comments flooding in from disgruntled customers.

Westpac’s online banking services have been disrupted.

Many expressed frustration over the timing of the outage, which occurred when people were out shopping or managing personal finances.

Westpac responded privately to several comments, apologising for the inconvenience and encouraging customers to send private messages for further assistance.

Amid the backlash, some customers demanded compensation for the inconvenience caused by the outage.

In response to a concern about a customer ’s recent switch to Westpac, the bank’s media department said: “I appreciate your feedback and am sorry we’ve left you feeling disappointed. Please send us a Private Message so that we can collect more details to help you.”

Sunday’s outage is not the first time Westpac has faced digital banking disruptions in the past six months, with the latest service disruption prompting questions over the reliability of digital banking.

Some users mentioned outages were occurring more frequently, affecting trust in the bank’s digital systems.

Several questioned Westpac’s technical practices, speculating whether the issues were related to system updates.

Customer Grant Hanson said the bank had been testing its digital systems.

“Your engineers touching production again? Don’t they have a test environment to test their changes? Also, why do the changes during the day? Can’t they be done late at night when it’s less busy?”

Westpac has apologised.

Despite the acknowledgment and attempts to engage with affected users, many were left feeling unsatisfied. Some users expressed intentions to close their accounts, citing the unreliability of the bank’s digital services.

Frustrated customer Robbie Ward said: “Hurry up. I need to transfer my money so I can go shopping. Cash is king.”

Another customer, Andrew Glasson, expressed his discontent.

“Westpac is the worst. Here we go again. This is the last time; I’m getting out of this bank Monday morning at 9.30am.”

Others shared experiences of being left in difficult situations, including being unable to complete essential purchases or make transfers to family members.

Jenny Hartley voiced her concern, stating, “Need to transfer money to my son … how much longer?”

Naarah Harrison-French commented, “Digital banking = Eggs in one basket,” highlighting the vulnerability many customers felt when they could not access their funds.

Amanda-Jane Kersh asked: “This is an ongoing issue, what kind of compensation will Westpac be offering?”

Originally published as Westpac apologises as digital banking outage disrupts thousands