Imagine a digital-only bank that can’t even access its own app. Sounds like a nightmare, right? Well, that’s exactly what happened to Bankwest customers over the weekend.
On Friday, the app for the newly digital bank went down, leaving thousands of customers stranded and unable to access their accounts. The outage continued till Sunday, with customers taking to social media to express their frustration and anger.
Customers Vent Their Frustration on Social Media
“Think I’ll be looking for a new bank. The ‘digital only’ bank that’s not available online. Hope you didn’t want access to your money,” wrote one customer on Twitter.
Another customer chimed in, “Maybe it’s time to leave Bankwest, the digital-only bank without an operating app.”
Bankwest Apologizes and Scrambles to Fix the Issue
Bankwest was quick to respond to customer concerns on social media, apologizing for the inconvenience and promising to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
“We’re sorry for the trouble, and we’re working on it urgently,” the bank wrote on X.
In the meantime, customers were advised to log in to their online banking using their PAN and password, which seemed to be the only way to access their accounts during the outage.
The Issue is Now Resolved
Bankwest has finally resolved the technical issue, and the app is now operating as normal. A statement from the bank confirmed that the problem had been fixed.
“Bankwest experienced a technical issue preventing some customers from logging into the Bankwest app with PIN or biometric ID from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning,” the statement said.
“We apologized to customers for this inconvenience and kept them updated through our Facebook page and website while we worked urgently to resolve the issue.”
What Customers Could Do During the Outage
Although customers couldn’t access their accounts through the app or using their PIN or biometric ID, they could still log in using their PAN and password. Additionally, customers could continue to access ATMs, use their bank cards, and make payments through digital wallets.
A Lesson Learned for Digital-Only Banks?
The incident serves as a reminder that even digital-only banks can experience technical issues. It’s essential for banks to have robust systems in place to minimize downtime and ensure customers can access their accounts and funds whenever they need to.
In this case, Bankwest has apologized and made amends, but it’s clear that customers expect more from their digital-only banks. As one customer aptly put it, “Hope you didn’t want access to your money.”