Barclays sends a message to customers after a banking outage left them stranded, causing anger

Thousands of Barclays customers faced financial uncertainty on payday due to a major service outage at the bank.

From 9:45 am on Friday, January 31, users reported problems accessing their accounts, making payments, or checking if their salaries had been deposited.

By 4 pm on Tuesday, DownDetector had received over 3,000 complaints about Barclays’ digital services. Most issues were related to mobile banking, while 38% were about online banking.

The outage website’s maps showed that the problems were widespread across the UK, with Glasgow and Edinburgh being the most affected areas in Scotland.

The disruption caused widespread frustration, with many customers expressing their anger on social media, according to the Express.

One customer tweeted: “Barclays is down again. I think it’s time to switch banks.”

Another wrote: “I’m trying to pay my taxes, but your online banking keeps crashing. Did you not expect it to be a busy day?”

A third customer added: “I’m trying to pay HMRC, but my payment isn’t going through, even though I confirmed it in the app.”

The Barclays UK Help team responded, saying: “We’re aware of some issues and are urgently investigating them.”

However, for some customers, the damage was already done. One said: “This is the final straw. I’ll be moving my business account elsewhere. I can’t even pay wages.”

Another customer shared their frustrating experience: “I tried using my card in a shop and at an ATM, but both were declined, even though I have money in my account. I can’t use my card or the machines!”

Barclays apologized for the inconvenience caused by the technical issues and directed customers to their website for updates.

A Barclays spokesperson added: “We’re experiencing some problems with our systems today. We’re sorry for the trouble and are working hard to fix it. You might have trouble using some features in our app, Online Banking, or making payments. We also can’t assist you over the phone or through our messaging service.”

They assured customers that standard card and ATM transactions should work normally and advised: “You can still use your cards and cash machines as usual. For updates and to request a text when services are restored, search ‘Barclays service status’ online.”