British online bank Monzo, which serves over 12 million customers, experienced a significant service disruption early on payday, preventing users from sending or receiving payments.
The outage began shortly after 08:30 BST on June 27, escalating by 09:00 BST, with nearly 500 problem reports filed on outage monitor Downdetector. Affected customers encountered:
- Failed inbound and outbound transfers
- Difficulties logging in
- Problems depositing funds
The timing was particularly problematic many customers rely on same-day deposits for rent, bills, and essential purchases. On social media sites, particularly X (previously Twitter), individuals expressed frustration by posting:
- “Just transferred money to my Monzo account not come through. Usually very fast. ”
- “@monzo what’s with the fund transfer issues today? My money hasn’t turned up after being sent.”
Monzo confirmed that the outage has since been resolved and no further issues remain. Still, this wasn’t Monzo’s first disruption similar problems appeared in August 2024, and earlier this month, rival NatWest also suffered a widespread outage.
Service interruptions like this can trigger avoidable costs:
- Missed bill-payment penalties
- Overdraft or late fees
- Damage to credit rating
Though UK banks aren’t legally required to offer compensation for system outages, affected customers may claim expenses if they’ve incurred losses. Experts recommend:
- Document everything take screenshots, keep bank correspondence
- Contact impacted firms explain why payment was late
- Request reimbursement for fees or penalties
As challenger banks scale rapidly, ensuring robust uptime is critical. Monzo’s setback coupled with other high-profile outages underscores the need for:
- Redundant payment infrastructure
- Real-time monitoring
- Clear escalation protocols
On the flip side, transparent post-mortems (both from Monzo and its peers) are helping rebuild trust in the fintech space.
This incident spotlights the operational challenges banks face amid growth and the rising customer expectations for seamless, always-on service.
