Monzo App Outage Leaves Thousands Unable to Access Accounts

Monzo, the digital bank, experienced an outage on Wednesday, leaving thousands of users unable to access their accounts or use some app features. The bank said it had identified issues affecting some of its services and activated Monzo Stand-in, a back-up system designed to keep essential functions running.

Customers logging into the app on Wednesday afternoon were greeted with a warning message stating that Monzo was "investigating a technical issue." Some users found they could still check their balances but were unable to use certain features.

According to DownDetector, which monitors online service outages, more than 3,000 users reported issues with the Monzo app after 12pm. The platform recorded a sharp rise in outage reports around midday. One report suggested more than 20% of users were experiencing problems, with the majority unable to log in.

The outage disrupted some customers' financial activities. One user wrote on X: "I'm meant to be receiving my pay early today and I can't even access the option to do so. Please can you fix this I have things to do." Others complained on social media that they could not see their money pots or transfer between them, and one customer said they could not send money to their child's account.

In a statement posted on X, Monzo said: "We've identified some issues affecting Monzo and activated Monzo Stand-in, our fully independent backup bank. As a result, you can still make card payments, withdraw cash, freeze your card, send and receive bank transfers, and more. We're rolling out a fix and moving quickly to get full service back up and running for everyone. Thanks for your patience."

A Monzo spokesperson added: "We're currently experiencing a technical issue and are working to resolve this as soon as possible. In the meantime, we've moved into our back-up system Monzo Stand-in and customers can still do most things on their Monzo app including sending bank transfers and making card payments and ATM withdrawals."

The app also displayed messages reassuring users that they could still use their cards for payments, though balances and transactions might take longer to update and some features could be unavailable.

This is the second significant outage for Monzo this year, following a January incident when customers were unable to access cash. The wider banking industry has also faced similar disruptions. Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland, suffered a technical glitch that led to customers seeing other users' transactions on their mobile app.

A Treasury Committee report from March revealed that nine of the UK's biggest banks and building societies were down for over 803 hours – the equivalent of 33 days – over the previous two years. Barclays topped the list for most outages at 33, but had reduced the total downtime to 93 hours. HSBC had 32 incidents but nearly double the downtime at 176 hours.

Compensation Advice

Customers affected by the outage may wonder about compensation. According to guidance reported by The Sun, banks are not obliged to pay compensation for outages or technical issues. However, customers might be entitled to money back depending on how much the disruption affected them as a consumer.

To make a claim, customers would need to present evidence of how the outage negatively affected them, including any extra costs incurred. If a bank does not resolve a complaint, customers can escalate the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service, an independent body that resolves disputes based on what it considers "fair and reasonable."

Monzo has not indicated how long the outage will last, but stated it is "rolling out a fix" and "moving quickly to get full service back up and running."