Lloyds Bank says app issues fixed after payday IT issue

Multiple UK banks' mobile applications experienced technical glitches again on payday, sparking user dissatisfaction. Lloyds Bank and Halifax's apps went down on Friday morning, with users reporting related issues, according to thousands of user reports on the platform outage monitoring website Downdetector. This is not an isolated incident, and it raises concerns about the reliability of digital banking services.

In addition, users also reported that the Bank of Scotland and TSB Bank apps were also affected by technical issues, leading to inability to access them normally. However, the number of reports of these app issues has now decreased. A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson told the BBC that the Lloyds Bank, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland apps and online banking services have now returned to normal operation, and apologized for the earlier issues. The quick response to restore services is essential for maintaining customer trust.

This is the second time since 2025 that bank apps have experienced glitches on payday. In January this year, Barclays' app outage also affected customers in the UK. Consumer rights organization Which?'s retail editor Reena Sewraz said these IT issues "could cause real trouble for hundreds of thousands of customers." The frequency of these issues highlights the need for more robust systems.

"Some people may miss important bill payments, find themselves unable to pay for basic services, or face the risk of overdrafts, all of which can have serious consequences," she added. One user reflected on the X platform to Lloyds Bank's social media account that they could not access their business account to pay employee salaries. Another user tagged Lloyds Bank's account on the X platform, saying they were told they needed to transfer money to their own account, but could not do so due to the app's problem, and complained that there was no phone number on the bank card and they could not go to the branch for help. Such real-life examples demonstrate the immediate impact of these technical failures.

These bank IT issues also highlight concerns that the shift to mobile and internet banking services may hinder people's access to cash and bank branches. Campaign for Cash director Martin Quinn said Friday's bank app issues show society's over-reliance on technology. "This proves that a strong network of bank branches is needed now more than ever, because when failures occur, we need face-to-face banking services," he told the BBC. Disability rights organizations have also called for the protection of people's right to access cash. Patrick Burgess, a cybersecurity expert at the British Computer Society, said Lloyds Bank's problems on Friday show that "parts of the traditional banking system are still very vulnerable." Diversifying access methods is key to ensuring financial inclusion.

Professor Markos Zachariadis, chair of Financial Technology at the University of Manchester, told the BBC that if financial institutions cannot keep up with demand or handle technical problems, "the economy will suffer multiple high costs." Shilpa Doreswamy of GFT Technologies said this could also increase consumer confidence pressure on traditional banks. "For existing banks, there is an urgent need to modernize their IT infrastructure, otherwise they will continue to face an accelerating loss of confidence - and potentially even lose customers," she told the BBC. Investment in technology and infrastructure is essential for the future of banking.