Thousands queue up as cash machines give out 'free' money by mistake in Ireland after major IT glitch
16 August 2023, 09:19 | Updated: 16 August 2023, 09:25
The Bank of Ireland faced a crisis last night as thousands of customers descended on cash points to get their hands on ‘free’ money being dispensed due to a major IT glitch.
Customers noticed they were able to withdraw funds despite not having much money in their accounts.
Queues of people rushing to withdraw cash were seen in Dublin, Limerick and Navan, Co. Meath among other locations. Gardai were eventually deployed at cash points to clear queues from ATMs as people lined up to take advantage of the error.
Some people were even seemingly able to spend large amounts on cards in stores, with video clips of people shopping for big screen TVs going viral.
Yesterday afternoon the bank told customers there was an issue with its app and personal banking website.
#BankOfIreland right now on O Connell Street, the world has gone mad 😂 pic.twitter.com/LOkT3LvGcy
— Denise Ross (@iDeniseRoss) August 15, 2023
The bank posted online last night warning people that any money taken from their accounts will be debited: “We would like to remind customers if transferring/withdrawing funds-including over normal limits-this money will be debited from their account.
“We are conscious customers may not be able to check balances, but should not withdraw/transfer if they are likely to become overdrawn.
In an update at around 8am today, the bank posted: “Following the outage yesterday, the App and 3650nline are back working again. Overnight payments to accounts may appear throughout the day.
"We sincerely apologise for the disruption this outage caused - we know it fell far below the standards our customers expect from us.”
Thousands of people queued up at cashpoints to withdraw money that they did not have in their own accounts.
One person wrote online: “Bank of Ireland taking unilateral action to stimulate the economy. Willy wonka quantitative easing evening. And the crowd sang money for nothing and your cheques for free. Oh how we laughed.
I wonder will anybody take the credit for this initiative, surely!”
A major technology #malfunction in #BankOfIreland's systems allowed customers with empty accounts to withdraw up to €1,000, leading to widespread queues at #ATMs as people mistakenly thought they were accessing free cash. Police had to manage the large crowds in some areas. pic.twitter.com/QbNNQStO8n
— Warm Talking (@Warm_Talking) August 16, 2023
The flaw appeared to allow some people with not much money in their accounts to transfer up to e1,000 into a Revolut account. They could then withdraw the money from the Revolut account through any ATM.
Huge queues at cash points appeared overnight - with the gardai clamping down - with warnings there is no such thing as ‘free’ money and any funds withdrawn would have to be repaid.
It came after the bank was hit with errors with its mobile app and online services.
Customers were unable to access the bank's mobile app and Banking365 online services for hours. Customers reported being unable to transfer money and access their accounts.
The bank apologised this morning and confirmed that the issue had been resolved.
A spokesman for the Central Bank of Ireland said it "continues to monitor the situation regarding the availability of certain services provided by Bank of Ireland".
"We are engaging with Bank of Ireland to ensure that any issues and errors identified are resolved for customers, and that it is doing all it can to ensure customers expectation of a high quality, uninterrupted service is met.
"Customers should contact Bank of Ireland in the first instance if they have concerns about their service.
"For more information, impacted customers should contact Bank of Ireland on is 0818 214 365 or visit www.bankofireland.com."
