Barclays banking app outage 'resolved' after nearly THREE DAYS as unpaid customers told to use food banks

The widespread disruption has affected multiple banking services, including the Barclays and Barclaycard apps, online banking, payments and transfers, as well as branch and telephone banking services.

Notably, the IT issue began on Friday, January 31 which fell on pay day for many workers and is also the deadline for Britons to file their Self-Assessment tax return to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Ina statement, a Barclays spokesperson said: "The technical issue impacting our customers on Friday and Saturday has been resolved and delayed payments processed.

Do you have a money story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing money@gbnews.uk.

"Customers can use our app, bank online, call us, use their cards and withdraw cash. We are working on bringing balances up to date for some of our customers and addressing any outstanding issues.

"We are very sorry for any disruption and will ensure that no impacted customer is left out of pocket. We are keeping our call centres open for longer this weekend and we will be proactively contacting customers who may be vulnerable."

However, customers logging into the Barclays app earlier this morning were met with a message stating "Thank you for bearing with us". The bank acknowledged the issue was "taking longer than we'd like to fix" as it worked to correct users' balances.

According to outage tracker Down Detector, thousands of customers have reported problems, with more than half (52 per cent) of complaints related to mobile banking issues.

A further 38 per cent of reports concerned online banking problems, while 10 per cent were connected to bill payments. In a previous statement, a Barclays spokesperson said: "We're extremely sorry for the ongoing technical issues that are impacting our customers accounts and are working hard to fix the issue."

The bank assured customers that they need not attempt to make payments again, even if transactions are not showing. Barclays promised that "no impacted customer is left out of pocket" as they work to resolve the problems.

Furthermore, the bank extended its call centre hours over the weekend and said it would proactively contact vulnerable customers who might be affected by the disruption.

Amid the IT outage debacle, Barclays has faced criticism for its advice to struggling customers, after suggesting they seek support from food banks.

On social media platform X, when responding to a customer who reported their household had no access to money, Barclays' UK Help account recommended contacting loved ones for support and provided links to food bank websites.

While Barclays has confirmed that customers were still withdraw cash from ATMs and use their cards for payments, many people reported being unable to see their current account balances or recent transactions.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

• Bank branch closures: Barclays to shut down multiple sites - full list here
• HSBC and Barclays among banks with savings interest rates 'lagging behind', Which? claims
• Mortgage disaster as Barclays and NatWest scrap sub-4% mortgage rates

The technical problems have been attributed to a technical issue rather than a cyber attack, PA news agency understands.

HMRC has confirmed it is "working closely" with Barclays to minimise impact on customers submitting self-assessment tax returns.

The tax authority assured that its own services are "working as normal" and emphasised that no late payment penalties would apply until March 1.

Despite the ongoing issues, Barclays has confirmed that ATMs remain unaffected, with customers still able to withdraw cash and make card payments.