The technical glitches in Australia’s banking system have continued, with an outage this morning reportedly leaving Westpac and St George customers unable to access EFTPOS and ATM facilities due to an air-conditioning problem in one of the bank’s data centres.
The problems come just months after NAB suffered a major technical problem that saw payrolls delayed for several days. Users were unable to access online banking facilities and saw many of their scheduled payments delayed for up to several weeks.
Westpac also suffered problems in mid-March, when users were unable to access their online banking accounts.
It has been reported this morning that customers across the country, including those in Melbourne and Sydney, are unable to access ATM and EFTPOS facilities, along with online banking, due to an air-conditioning fault at a data centre.
In a message on Twitter, Westpac said this morning that, “We are currently experiencing technical issues. Currently being investigated. Very sorry for inconvenience”.
“[The problem] triggered the shutdown of our ATM EFTPOS facilities and unfortunately our online banking site as well,” Westpac spokesperson Jane Counsel told the ABC.
However, when Westpac was contacted this morning for comment, a spokesperson declined to comment and instead said a statement is scheduled to be released shortly.
ePal, which manages the EFTPOS brand and network, was also contacted but SmartCompany was deferred to Westpac.
However, managing director Bruce Mansfield told Fairfax this morning that it is aware of service disruptions and is “speaking with the affected acquiring bank to minimise impact on Australian consumers and merchants.”
Dozens of users on Twitter have complained about the outage, with many venting frustration at the fact they cannot access any of their funds. One user also complained about not being able to access funds after arriving in a foreign country.
Radio station Triple J has also announced it has been told it cannot accept payments from Westpac and St George credit cards for Splendour in the Grass, a popular music festival.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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