HSBC apologises for disruption to online and mobile banking on Black Friday

HSBC has apologised after thousands of consumers reported issues with their online and mobile banking accounts since last Friday, of which many were unable to join the Black Friday sales. 

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, a HSBC UK spokesperson said: “We're really sorry for the disruption to online and mobile banking on Friday, and understand this was incredibly frustrating for many of our customers. Services are working normally, and we're continuing to monitor closely.

The spokesperson added that protecting customers from fraud is incredibly important for HSBC. "We encourage customers to be alert to criminals who often use events like this to trick people into sending money to safe accounts or divulge security details. We will never ask you to move money or share your passcodes, and if someone calls and asks you to do that they will be a scammer," said the statement.

This comes after multiple reports such as The Daily Mail said hundreds of netizens started reporting issues with their online banking accounts since 7am on 24 November. Some said they were unable to transfer money and check payments, while some said they were not able to take part in Black Friday sales, a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw on HSBC's X account (formerly Twitter). 

In the evening of the same day, HSBC apologised for the incident and said that it was working hard to restore its mobile and online banking service, and the authorising of online card purchases via the app.

On 25 November, the bank apologised again for the continued, intermittent disruption to online and mobile banking. "We’re working hard to fix it. You can still authorise online card purchases via SMS, as well as use your debit and credit cards for in-store purchases as usual," the statement read. 

The issue was finally fixed on 26 November, with HSBC apologising again on its X account. "We apologise for the continued inconvenience caused by the disruption to personal mobile and online banking. The issue stems from our internal systems, and we are working hard to get a fix in place," the company said.

It also said services are back up and running but customers should seek help if they are still experiencing issues.

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HSBC isn't the first bank to come under fire due to payment disruptions. Back in September, DBS apologised to users after its customers reported delays in their FAST or PayNow transactions.

"We are aware that some of our customers faced a delay in their FAST and PayNow transactions earlier this afternoon. The issue was rectified at 4.30 pm," said DBS in a Facebook update at 6.02 pm on 26 September[...]We would like to assure customers that their delayed transaction will be processed by today. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused," it said.

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