Numerous users experienced disruptions on Thursday morning due to an outage of the BankID app, utilized for various online services across Norway. Reports indicated the app became operationally unavailable shortly before 9:00 AM, affecting login processes for several websites.
Olav Kjær, a communications advisor for BankID, commented on the situation, saying, "BankID-appen er utilgjengelig, men kodebrikke fungerer som normalt." (The BankID app is unavailable, but the code-brick works normally.) He remarked on the efforts the team was making to resolve the issues as the problems unfolded. By around 9:30 AM, users noticed the login difficulties becoming more pronounced, with various online services reporting issues with accessing BankID functionalities.
According to Kjær, the technical team quickly began investigating the problems. He stated, "Vi gjør så godt vi kan for å finne ut hva som er problemet. Vi beklager selvfølgelig til alle som blir rammet av dette." (We are doing our best to find out what the problem is. We sincerely apologize to everyone affected by this.) Kjær’s acknowledgment highlights the company's commitment to restoring services as soon as possible for user convenience.
Reports from Addressavisen underscored the depth of the outages, noting not only the BankID app but also code-brick functions were compromised. The operational status site provided by Stø, the company responsible for managing BankID services, reflected the app's unavailability. Kjær reiterated there were significant issues with the BankID app, complicational aspects of connectivity and access to necessary online services for users.
Fortunately, by mid-morning, Stø announced updates confirming the services were back online. Around 11:42 AM, the company affirmed, "Alle systemer er i normal drift." (All systems are back to normal operations.) This swift recovery was welcomed after nearly three hours of inconvenience for users trying to access banking services and various other online applications reliant on BankID authentication.
For many individuals and businesses, BankID acts as the digital doorway to secure transactions and identity verification necessary for banking and electronic communications. The outage not only disrupted day-to-day activities for users, but it also underscored the importance of technological reliability in our increasingly digital world.
Kjær's final comments to TV 2 reiterated the company's proactive stance stating, "Vi jobber med å finne feilen, og gjør det vi kan for at ting skal bli løst så fort som mulig." (We are working to find the error, and we are doing what we can so things are resolved as quickly as possible.) This vigilance from the BankID team reflects their commitment to ensuring user access and minimizing disruptions caused by unforeseen technical challenges.
The episode serves as both a reminder of the digital service dependencies many users have and the necessity for quick responsive action from tech service providers to mitigate the impact of such outages. With digital services playing such fundamental roles across sectors, maintaining reliable access to systems like BankID is not just important — it’s imperative for the everyday functions of modern life.