Westpac Customers Struggle to Access Funds After Technical Issue

Thousands of Westpac customers have encountered difficulties in accessing their accounts following a recent technology update. The bank has acknowledged the issue and is working to resolve it as quickly as possible. On Monday night at around 8pm AEDT, reports of the outage began to surface, with customers experiencing difficulties accessing their accounts through both mobile and internet banking. A statement from Westpac confirmed the outage and apologised for any inconvenience caused. The situation continued to unfold, with online and mobile banking remaining unavailable at 10:40pm AEDT. The bank assured customers that efforts were ongoing to restore the services. However, at 11:48pm AEDT, Westpac attributed the outage to a routine technology update earlier in the evening. This left many customers in a state of panic, with some expressing their concerns on social media. Many reported being unable to see their account information or carry out transactions using the mobile app. The website Down Detector, which tracks outages, recorded more than 10,000 reports of issues by 8pm AEDT. Despite the challenges with online and mobile banking, Westpac confirmed that ATM and card payment services were still operational, as well as self-serve telephone banking on 132 032. This is not the first time that Westpac has experienced technical difficulties. A similar outage occurred on November 10, 2022, during which customers faced obstacles in accessing mobile and internet banking for several hours. It’s worth noting that Westpac is not alone in these challenges, as the Commonwealth Bank also apologised to its customers earlier this year after a significant glitch affected their ability to make purchases and access their accounts. In conclusion, Westpac is actively addressing the current issues with online and mobile banking, and customers can still utilise alternative banking services such as ATMs and telephone banking in the interim. The bank continues to work diligently to rectify the situation and minimise disruption for its customers.