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The Chase UK banking app has suffered a range of “major” and “partial” outages across multiple functions, leaving panicked customers scrambling for help.
Late on Tuesday night (October 4), Chase UK said in a tweet that it is aware that some customers are “having issues” logging into the mobile app.
By the next morning (October 5), the technical issues appeared to have spread to multiple app functions, including joining, seeing balances and activity, sending money out and moving money between accounts.
At the time of writing, all of these functions were still listed as undergoing major outages on Chase’s website, prompting a deluge of angry comments from customers online.
“I know you’re having issues with the app but I’m so concerned,” said one user on Twitter.
“I’m getting every kind of access issue notification: won’t recognise code, can’t log-in, can’t verify ID, and now it’s saying my device isn’t registered to an account?”
“The second you come back online I am moving all my savings away from you,” said another user. “So many other banks are now paying 4+ percent interest. This outage was the nudge I needed.”
In response, Chase UK was quick to point out that in-store card payments and scheduled payments were still operating, but it did not offer any timeline as to when full service will be restored.
“We're aware some customers are still having issues using our app today,” it said. “If you're affected, you might have issues logging in, approving online card payments and navigating the app. We're working to fix this as soon as we can.”
Distressed replies from customers continued late into Wednesday evening, prompting speculation of a ransomware attack.
James Kimbley, founder of the UK-based Kimbley IT company, shared a screenshot that purports to show an email from Chase UK informing customers that “one of its systems” had actually been experiencing “intermittent issues” since Monday evening.
Kimbley asked his followers whether they would place their “bets on a ransomware attack?”.
Whatever caused the technical issues, the two-day service outage was one day too many for some Chase customers.
“Day two and your app is still down, and you have provided no clear indication of when it will be working again,” said Robert Thorpe.
“This is simply not good enough. You can’t keep your customers locked out for this long. The poor communication is inexcusable.”
“I didn't realise that having a Chase UK bank would help during the cost of living crisis,” said finance blogger Joseph Seager.
“I can't spend anything even if I wanted to. The approve-on-app idea is great, until of course the app crashes for over a day.”
Andy Webb, founder of BeCleverWithYourCash.com, reminded people that the Chase UK outage highlights why banking customers ought to have more than one current and savings account.
