UK Banks Quizzed About Payment Resilience

In the UK at the end of January Barclays Bank had a major IT outage, followed by HSBC, which meant customers could not use their online banking. At the same time Lloyds Bank and NatWest have announced even more bank branch closures and the UK government has confirmed it will not require retailers to accept cash payments.

Parliament’s Treasury Committee has now written to CEOs at nine banks and building societies to request information on the scale and impact of IT failures which have affected their businesses over the last two years.

Trust is all in banking

A recent blog by Chris Skinner may explain changes in UK Banking ¹. Without branches, no mobile banking, means no banking. Digital banks – the neobanks – have no history, limited capital, a customer growth challenge and a question of trust. Traditional banks have almost unlimited capital, a locked-in customer base and a license for trust, backed by years of history (sometimes centuries).