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| Version 6 | Version 7 |
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| NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank say online banking glitch 'resolved' | NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank say online banking glitch 'resolved' |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank say the problems that meant customers could not access their bank accounts online on Friday have been "resolved". | RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank say the problems that meant customers could not access their bank accounts online on Friday have been "resolved". |
| For about five hours customers were locked out of their accounts until the problem was fixed mid-morning. | For about five hours customers were locked out of their accounts until the problem was fixed mid-morning. |
| Many took to social media to complain, a day after technical problems also hit rival Barclays. | Many took to social media to complain, a day after technical problems also hit rival Barclays. |
| An RBS spokesman said: "We would like to apologise to customers who experienced issues this morning." | An RBS spokesman said: "We would like to apologise to customers who experienced issues this morning." |
| He added that: "The issue has now been resolved and no customer will be left out of pocket as a result of this." | He added that: "The issue has now been resolved and no customer will be left out of pocket as a result of this." |
| 'Access issue' | 'Access issue' |
| RBS Group - which owns the RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank brands - said the failure was caused by a "technical glitch" in a regular update to their firewall which was applied early on Friday morning. | RBS Group - which owns the RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank brands - said the failure was caused by a "technical glitch" in a regular update to their firewall which was applied early on Friday morning. |
| After the problems appeared the update was reversed, allowing customers to get into their accounts once again. The banks' ATM network and telephone banking was not impacted at any stage. | After the problems appeared the update was reversed, allowing customers to get into their accounts once again. The banks' ATM network and telephone banking was not impacted at any stage. |
| The bank emphasised that it was an "access issue" and there is no evidence that customer data was compromised. | The bank emphasised that it was an "access issue" and there is no evidence that customer data was compromised. |
| RBS chief executive Ross McEwan apologised this morning. | RBS chief executive Ross McEwan apologised this morning. |
| According to the group's latest annual report it has 19 million customers in the UK and Republic of Ireland with 5.5 million active mobile app users. | According to the group's latest annual report it has 19 million customers in the UK and Republic of Ireland with 5.5 million active mobile app users. |
| Many of them shared their frustration on social media, with a number pointing out that the problems arrived at a terrible time - on payday. | Many of them shared their frustration on social media, with a number pointing out that the problems arrived at a terrible time - on payday. |
| Customer Paul Murphy told the BBC: "This is just what you need as the weekend approaches and bills to pay." | Customer Paul Murphy told the BBC: "This is just what you need as the weekend approaches and bills to pay." |
| Jess Cochrane said: "It's payday, I can't transfer my wage to the joint account all the bills come out of, I have no card and no branch near me." | Jess Cochrane said: "It's payday, I can't transfer my wage to the joint account all the bills come out of, I have no card and no branch near me." |
| 'Not good enough' | 'Not good enough' |
| The issue was just the latest in a growing series of problems that customers of Britain's banks have experienced in the last 18 months. | The issue was just the latest in a growing series of problems that customers of Britain's banks have experienced in the last 18 months. |
| The RBS group had a similar problem in April last year, when its banking apps stopped working. | The RBS group had a similar problem in April last year, when its banking apps stopped working. |
| In 2014 it was fined £56m by regulators after a 2012 software issue left millions of customers unable to access accounts for weeks. | In 2014 it was fined £56m by regulators after a 2012 software issue left millions of customers unable to access accounts for weeks. |
| Earlier this year TSB's huge IT meltdown led to weeks of pain for customers and the eventual resignation of chief executive Paul Pester. | Earlier this year TSB's huge IT meltdown led to weeks of pain for customers and the eventual resignation of chief executive Paul Pester. |
| But this week has marked three bank outages. | But this week has marked three bank outages. |
| Customers of online challenger bank Cashplus - which targets people with poor credit histories - were unable to access their accounts, make cash withdrawals, or make or receive payments earlier this week. | Customers of online challenger bank Cashplus - which targets people with poor credit histories - were unable to access their accounts, make cash withdrawals, or make or receive payments earlier this week. |
| Then on Thursday Barclays customers were locked out of their accounts online for several hours. The bank said it is yet to discover what caused the problem. | Then on Thursday Barclays customers were locked out of their accounts online for several hours. The bank said it is yet to discover what caused the problem. |
| A Barclays spokeswoman told the BBC: "Our priority yesterday was to get services back online for customers. We're currently investigating the root cause of the outage." | A Barclays spokeswoman told the BBC: "Our priority yesterday was to get services back online for customers. We're currently investigating the root cause of the outage." |
| Nicky Morgan MP, Chair of the Treasury Committee, said: "It simply isn't good enough to expose customers to IT failures, including delays in paying bills and an inability to access their own money. | |
| "High street banks justify the closure of their branch networks on the basis that they are providing a seamless online and mobile phone banking service. These justifications carry little weight if their banking apps and websites cannot be relied upon. | |
| "The Bank of England has recently announced it will begin to run IT stress tests on banks. These can't come soon enough." |