Barclays Bank customers found themselves locked out of their accounts on Friday, January 31, 2025, facing significant disruptions on what is traditionally known as payday for millions across the United Kingdom. Compounding the frustration, this digital banking crisis coincided with the final deadline for self-assessment tax returns, leading to widespread outrage among users as they faced errors and payment difficulties.
The issues began around 10 am, with numerous customers reporting problems through various channels, including social media and outage tracking websites. Many encountered the dreaded ‘BG010 error’ when attempting to access the bank’s app or online banking services, effectively putting their financial lives on hold. For many, this was not merely inconvenient—it was financially debilitating.
"Due to you Barclays I’m left without money had a food shop due for delivery this morning which now will get cancelled, leaving my four kids with no food it’s a joke as it is my money," lamented one frustrated user on social media, reflecting the anxiety felt by countless others. Another echoed similar sentiments by asking, "How can I eat and keep warm if I can’t get to my funds?" Their concerns were not unfounded; for many users, the outage meant disrupted plans and unanswered needs. One distraught mother shared her plight, stating, "My four-month-old is out of milk powder and screaming for a feed, and I still haven’t been paid." This highlights the severe personal impact this outage had on everyday users, emphasizing not just inconvenience, but the potential harm to families reliant on immediate access to funds.
By the end of the day on Friday, reports of the outage continued to mount. According to the outage tracker Down Detector, there were more than 1,600 reports from customers unable to access their banking services, with significant portions of them struggling with the mobile banking platform and online transactions. Affected services included everything from payments and transfers to communication through the bank’s messaging and telephone systems. Barclays remained mostly silent on the causes of the outage, but acknowledged the situation through social media platforms.
"We're sorry if you're having issues with some of our services at the moment. You may have trouble using some features of our app, online banking, as well as payments in and out of your accounts - we’re also unable to help you over the telephone or our Message us service," Barclays addressed their customers. The bank emphasized their commitment to resolving these issues as quickly as possible, issuing multiple apologies throughout the day. "We’re working to fix this as quickly as possible," they assured, but by Friday night, many users still faced limited access.
The digital banking blackout hit particularly hard on payday, creating panic and frustration among users who would typically expect to access their salaries or payments without issue. With many having dependent family members and urgent bills to pay, the loss of access to funds was especially pronounced. Some users shared embarrassing stories about putting groceries back on supermarket shelves because they couldn’t access their money. Comments like, "An absolute joke on payday, people have wages to access and bills to pay, get it sorted, before 3pm!" typified the urgency many felt.
Despite the frustration, Barclays customers were advised to not make duplicate payment attempts, as any payments submitted during the downtime would still process once the systems came back online. This lack of clarity and the risk of potential double charges only added to customer anxiety. Users were also cautioned to monitor their accounts closely post-outage to avoid confusion.
Within the banking community, professional observers noted the significance of such outages, especially on financial days like payday and tax deadlines. The repercussions could lead to long-term trust issues for institutions if customers feel they cannot rely on them during times of financial need.
Barclays' Global Technology Command Centre, located at Radbroke Hall, Cheshire, serves as the hub for managing such system outages. The bank has endeavors to address technology and operations across its retail and business banking practices, including apps and AI-powered services. Yet, on this fateful payday, the effectiveness of these frameworks was put to the test and failed.
This situation poses larger questions about the increasing reliance on digital banking services and what firms must do to safeguard their networks from such disruptions. Will customers reconsider their banking partners after such an intensive outage? Some threatened to reconsider their long-term affiliations with Barclays, hinting at the possibility of changing banks altogether. "Might be time for me to leave Barclays ngl," remarked one user, encapsulating the very real sentiments swirling amid the crisis.
By Saturday, February 1st, Barclays had yet to provide clarity on what exactly caused such disruptions or what customers could expect moving forward. Communication remains key—both from banks to customers and within the financial ecosystem to maintain operational integrity and trust. Without prompt and effective recovery, customers may feel the aftershocks of this day for much longer than just payday.