Only three days after big four bank Absa announced the launch of its new interface, Absa Online, the bank's online and mobile systems failed.
The inability to transact on Friday, which for many was payday, sent frustrated users into social media rant mode, flooding platforms like Twitter and Facebook with angry comments about the inopportune failure of Absa's digital banking platforms.
In response, Absa posted a series of updates on its Facebook page. The posts, more or less on the hour, from about 1pm to 4pm, however, seemed to do little to assuage thwarted would-be bankers.
Absa's first post, “We are aware of the current issues we are having with our online and cellphone banking and are currently working on a solution. At this moment, there is no defined timeline on a resolution, but we will have an update to share at 14:00. We apologise for any inconvenience caused” was met with retorts. “Sorry, Steve, I'll have to bank with FNB!”; “Not good enough”; “Blah Blah Blah! ...... Promises Promises Promises But I'm sure there won't be a problem on the day that my bank charges are deducted from my account!”; “If I received Internet banking for free I would shut my trap ,BUT I'm paying for this. So you better deliver like it is being paid for. Useless useless useless. Always on paydays.” (sic)
While the bank did not attribute the glitch (which lasted the greater part of the day, until partial usability was possible at around 4pm) to its new online interface, launched on Monday at midnight, remarks on micro-blogging site Twitter revealed users drew a connection between the two: “Who plans a major update to a banking service so close to month end? #absa #fail”; “So #Absa upgraded their Online Banking right before payday. Surprise surprise, it's gone down.”
One Absa customer says he phoned the bank to report the problem at about 2pm. “They told me it was down because of their new interface. It's annoying that they didn't forewarn anyone.”
However, Absa has avoided attributing the failure to its recent site upgrade and said in a brief statement this morning: “Absa's Online and Mobile Banking systems have now been restored to full service availability. The bank's Web site - www.absa.co.za - is currently experiencing intermittent availability and users may experience problems loading the page, though the logon button to Online Banking is available. We apologise for the continued inconvenience as we establish the cause of the problem.”
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