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Halifax app down after Barclays chaos - 'purely coincidence or something more sinister?'

ended 03. February 2025

Following the chaos with Barclays on Friday, many customers on X and elsewhere are now saying they are having issues with receiving or making payments with the Halifax. Newspage asked experts for their views, below.

3 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Stephen Perkins
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
Recent banking issues are a stark reminder of our reliance on online banking and apps. Such incidents in an increasingly cash-less society can cause great damage to the most vulnerable in society, and disrupt business and the economy. With two banks disrupted in quick succession you do wonder if this is purely coincidence or something more sinister.
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Editor
Dariusz Karpowicz
Director at Albion Financial Advice
The banking sector appears to be stumbling through a technological rough patch, with Halifax experiencing widespread payment issues mere days after Barclays' significant service disruption. Coming on the heels of the self-assessment tax deadline chaos, this latest banking breakdown has left customers and businesses in an increasingly precarious position.
These consecutive failures in our major banking institutions raise serious questions about the resilience of our financial infrastructure in an increasingly digital economy. While technological advancement has revolutionised banking convenience, these disruptions serve as a stark reminder of our systemic vulnerability - particularly concerning given the rapid shift towards a cashless society.
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Keith Budden
Managing Director at Ensurety
It appears to be Lloyds as well being affected by this latest issue. While there is every likelihood that these latest issues are completely unrelated to Barclays severe issue at the end of last week, the conspiracy theorists will no doubt have their cookbooks out concocting all kinds of fresh recipes. On a more serious note, these breaches do indicate the wiseness of not having all of your eggs in one basket - it can make sense to have an emergency credit card, or a deposit of some spare cash into an account of an unrelated bank. At least then, if an app problem does occur you can still put fuel in the car and food on the table.