NatWest digital banking 'back online' after outage

NatWest customers walk in front of a high street branch (Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

As many as 10 million NatWest customers may have been hit by the outage (Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

(Image credit: Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

By Henry Sandercock

last updated 28 May 2024

in News

NatWest's online banking and mobile app are back online after a service outage.

The high street bank’s retail and business banking customers had been unable to instantly access their current and savings accounts on Tuesday morning (28 May). The source of the issue has not yet been disclosed.

It means as many as 10 million customers may have been unable to instantly access their accounts. NatWest has apologised for the outage. Other NatWest Group brands, including the Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, have been unaffected.

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It comes as the banking giant is in the midst of a major digital transition, with its brands set to shutter more than 50 high street branches in 2024. The government is lining up a sell-off of its remaining stake in NatWest, with the proposed move likely to take place as early as June.

Digital banking issues 'resolved', NatWest says

Between 5.40am and 9.30am on Tuesday, retail and business customers who tried to log into the NatWest online banking portal or mobile app were greeted with an error message.

But, in an update, the bank said the issue has now been fixed. Its spokesperson said: "We are aware that some customers were experiencing difficulties accessing NatWest mobile and online banking this morning. The issue has been resolved and customers are now able to log in as normal. We apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused."

NatWest has previously stated that around 10 million customers use its mobile banking app. The issue that hit the bank may have affected even more people given the figure does not cover online banking users.

Those attempting to log into their bank accounts on Tuesday morning were met with a message that said: "Something went wrong". This was followed by text which read: “We’re sorry, some kind of error has occurred when trying to establish a connection between your device and ourselves.”

People were then told to close the app and try again. However, according to the bank’s ‘service status’ page, NatWest’s digital services are down. The bank initially encouraged its customers to use telephone banking or visit a branch.

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Henry Sandercock has spent more than eight years as a journalist covering a wide variety of beats. Having studied for an MA in journalism at the University of Kent, he started his career in the garden of England as a reporter for local TV channel KMTV.

Henry then worked at the BBC for three years as a radio producer - mostly on BBC Radio 2 with Jeremy Vine, but also on major BBC Radio 4 programmes like The World at One, PM and Broadcasting House. Switching to print media, he covered fresh foods for respected magazine The Grocer for two years.

After moving to NationalWorld.com - a national news site run by the publisher of The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post - Henry began reporting on the cost of living crisis, becoming the title’s money editor in early 2023. He covered everything from the energy crisis to scams, and inflation. You will now find him writing for MoneyWeek. Away from work, Henry lives in Edinburgh with his partner and their whippet Whisper.