Banking app down? When you can claim compensation from your bank

What's happened

On Tuesday 20 October, a fault at Google Cloud's London data centre region left customers of several UK banks unable to use their apps. Problems started at about 7am, and Google blamed a "power event". Lloyds, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Barclays and Revolut customers all reported problems. Revolut said customers' money and data were safe, and Lloyds later said the root issues had been resolved.

It wasn't a one-off. On 22 October, Which? said that between April 2025 and March 2026, Santander and its online brand Cahoot had the most outages of the banks it looked at, with Lloyds Bank reporting 22 incidents and Bank of Scotland and Halifax 20 each.

Which? also pointed out that, unlike broadband customers, bank customers have no automatic right to compensation when a service goes down. But if an outage costs you money, you can claim.

What the rules say

• No automatic payout. Your bank doesn't have to pay you just because its app was down. What matters is what the outage cost you.
• What you can claim for. The Financial Ombudsman Service lists overdraft charges caused by wages arriving late, charges from other companies after a missed payment, lost interest, extra costs such as phone calls and travel, and lost trade for small businesses.
• What the ombudsman can order. If it upholds a complaint, it can tell the bank to correct your credit file, refund extra costs and pay compensation for distress or inconvenience.
• Which rules it uses. The ombudsman looks at the rules in force at the time, including the Payment Services Regulations 2017 for payment problems and the Financial Conduct Authority's Consumer Duty. It also looks at how the bank supported you, including whether it contacted vulnerable customers.
• Time limits. For most complaints a bank has up to 8 weeks to reply. For complaints about payment services, the ombudsman says it has only 15 days. You then have 6 months from the bank's final response to go to the ombudsman. It's free, and covers the whole UK.

What it means in pounds: a worked example

This is an illustration, not a real case. Sam's credit card payment is due on the day the app goes down. He can't move £300 from his savings account to cover it, so the payment fails. His card provider charges a £12 late fee, and he spends £6 on bus fares to his nearest branch. That's £18 he wouldn't otherwise have spent, so he can ask the bank to refund it, and to ask the card provider to remove any missed-payment marker.

On top of that, the ombudsman's guidelines suggest an apology or under £100 for a one-off problem that's quickly put right, and £100 to £300 where the impact lasts days or weeks and takes real effort to sort out. If Sam spends weeks getting his credit file corrected, he could ask for an amount in that higher band.

What to do now

1. Contact your bank. Call, or visit a branch if you can. Which? suggests trying the bank's verified social media account if the phones are busy, but never share account details there. Tell anyone expecting a payment as early as you can, as this can sometimes stop a penalty.
2. Gather evidence. Take screenshots while the problem is happening, as they can be hard to find later. Keep statements showing extra charges, receipts for travel, a record of your calls and chats, and any change to your credit score.
3. Write a short timeline of what happened and what it cost you.
4. Complain to your bank in writing. Say who you spoke to and when, list your losses, including stress, and say what you want and by when.
5. Check your credit file. If a payment was marked as missed because of the outage, ask your bank to confirm in writing that its IT failure caused it, and ask the lender to remove the marker.
6. Go to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you're unhappy with the reply or the bank doesn't answer in time.

Your questions answered

My bank's app was down but I didn't lose any money. Can I claim?

You can complain, but compensation is less likely. The ombudsman's lowest band is an apology or less than £100 for a one-off problem that's quickly put right.

How do I avoid being stuck next time?

Which? suggests keeping some cash for essentials, knowing how to use telephone and online banking as well as the app, and having a free backup account with a small balance at another bank. If your bank keeps having problems, think about switching.

Someone has contacted me about the outage offering to help. Is it genuine?

Be careful. Scammers often use outages as cover. Which? says to be wary of any request for personal or financial details. Contact your bank using the number on the back of your card, or call 159. Forward scam texts to 7726 and emails to [email protected].

Sources: Which?: what to do if your banking app goes down, Central Banking: Google Cloud outage, Associated Press via ABC News, Financial Ombudsman Service: bank outages and IT failures, Financial Ombudsman Service: compensation for distress or inconvenience, Financial Ombudsman Service: how to complain