HSBC mobile and online banking services down on Black Friday due to ‘internal system issue’

24 November 2023, 13:17

HSBC UK is investigating "as a matter of urgency" as customers have been struggling to access banking services on Black Friday.

The bank has apologised to customers and is working to restore its mobile and online banking service, including the authorising of online card purchases via the app.

A message posted by the bank on X, formerly known as Twitter, said: "We understand some customers are having trouble accessing banking services as usual right now.

"We're investigating this as a matter of urgency and will share an update as soon as possible."

The disruption has happened as the Black Friday shopping bonanza gets under way, with retailers slashing their prices.

Some people may want to access their banking to check how much money they have left to spend in the sales.

With November 24 being the last Friday of the month, it will also be payday for some.

One X user responded to HSBC UK's message: "Literally the worst timing ever. People got paid and have bills to pay."

Another said: "Got to move some money so I can buy some Black Friday purchases (that I don't need) Maybe it's a sign!"

HSBC UK said in a statement: "We're working hard to restore HSBC UK's mobile and online banking service, including the authorising of online card purchases via the app.

"We understand this is really frustrating for some of our customers, and we are really sorry for the inconvenience."

HSBC UK said the issues its customers are having are not affecting customers of the brands First Direct or M&S Bank.

The problems are understood to have been caused by an internal systems issue.

While customers may not be able to authorise an online card purchase via the app, they can opt to confirm purchases via a one-time code sent via text message.

The problems started just after 8am on Friday and HSBC could not say how many customers had been affected.

Sam Richardson, deputy editor of Which? Money, said: "This HSBC outage will cause a real headache for a lot of its customers. In the worst cases it could prevent people making essential payments such as rent and bills, but it also falls on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, where many people will be looking to make significant savings on big-ticket items.

"We strongly advise customers that have been left out of pocket to keep evidence of extra expenses they may have incurred as a result of the outage, so they can be claimed back from HSBC.

"People want a bank they can depend on, and if IT outages become a regular occurrence, consumers could be tempted to vote with their feet and switch to an alternative provider - particularly with a lot of tempting switching incentives on offer at the moment.

"Having a back-up bank account or credit card can help, by giving consumers a way to make essential payments during outages like these."