TSB Bank in the U.K. had an IT meltdown, leaving millions of customers unable to make payments for food, fuel, or any kind of transactions. They were not even able to view their balance. The FCA is currently investigating the IT failures.
TSB mass IT failure is currently investigated by the FCA
The Financial Conduct Authority is currently investigating a computer failure that occurred at the high street bank TSB. An estimated number of 1.9 million people lost access to online banking service back in April, according to BBC News. The failure resulted after a planned maintenance window to move customer data from legacy Lloyds Banking Group systems to TSB’s own system. This led to customers losing access to their accounts without notice. Many customers have experiences online banking issues.
FCA chief executive Andrew Bailey stated that the FCA “has been dissatisfied with TSB’s communications with its customers and we have had concerns that TSB was not being open and transparent about the issues experienced.”
The financial regulator’s chief also added that the bank’s poor communication has probably shattered customers’ trust in its banking services or banking services in general.
TSB CEO offered false hopes to customers
The FCA also said that the bank’s CEO, Paul Pester had given an “optimistic view” of services. In the middle of this crisis, Pester told MPs on the Treasury Committee that the bank’s customers could carry out their transactions normally.
In a letter to the committee, MCA’s Bailey said that the bank’s CEO’s view was too confident and optimistic considering where things were standing at the moment. He wrote that enhanced caution would have been advised and Pester should have shared more details on the situation with the bank’s customers.
Customers themselves claimed that Pester told them that they were able to use their bank accounts normally and in fact, only half of them were able to do that.
“The FCA has been dissatisfied with TSB’s communications with its customers, and we have had concerns that TSB was not being open and transparent about the issues experienced,” Bailey wrote.
TSB Bank is considering using the blockchain technology to prevent further issues
Currently, the bank’s services have improved, but the situation is still unstable. 40% of the bank’s customers who are trying to call and discuss the issue were not able to speak to anyone and the waiting times have even gone beyond 30 minutes.
According to BBC, A TSB spokesperson said it was “doing whatever it takes to put things right for our customers and ensuring that no customer will be left out of pocket as a result of the recent IT issues”. They also said that the bank is seriously considering using the blockchain technology to prevent such an issue from occurring ever again.
