Capitec Bank, South Africa largest retail bank, has restored functionality to its ATMs and banking app following disruptions to its services on Friday morning.

Capitec, which is South Africa’s largest retail bank by customer numbers (22 million as of February 2024) – initially took to X to report it was experiencing service issues on all its banking channels.

“We are currently experiencing nationwide service issues, affecting all services,” Capitec said in a post. “We are working hard to resolve this. Your patience and understanding are greatly appreciated. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

At the same time, global reports of service disruptions affecting multiple businesses hit local and international media outlets.

One article, by US technology website The Verge, said thousands of Windows machines were experiencing a “blue screen of death” at boot, impacting businesses worldwide.

A faulty update in cybersecurity software from vendor CrowdStrike was identified as the cause of the disruption.

Capitec has confirmed that the disruption to its services was also due to issues with CrowdStrike software.

‘Significant disruptions’

“Capitec experienced significant disruptions across all our banking channels today due to a global downtime incident involving CrowdStrike, a key technology service provider. We recognise the inconvenience this has caused and wish to provide clarity and assurance to our valued clients,” Capitec said in a statement.

The disruptions affected services across all Capitec systems and channels, including online banking, mobile app transactions and card payments. The bank confirmed that card, ATM and banking app services have been restored and are now fully accessible to customers. Work to restore other services, including online banking, is ongoing, it said.