Absa’s online banking portals went down on Friday morning, leaving users unable to access its existing Internet banking site or its new Absa Online platform that it launched on Tuesday. Absa’s mobile banking service was also affected.
“Absa takes note of the technical problem with its Internet and mobile banking system and is working on resolving the matter. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and will provide an update as soon all services are running,” a spokesman for the bank says. It’s understood the problems are not related to the new Absa Online website.
The downtime couldn’t have come at a worse time of the month, with many companies wanting to use the service to pay their employees.
Adrian Vermooten, Absa’s deputy managing executive for digital channels, says he can’t comment on the cause of the problem but that Absa’s technicians are working on it and that the matter is “receiving the highest priority”.
Vermooten says the bank can’t comment on when the service will be live again but that as soon as more information is available it will be communicated to customers.
The bank says on its Facebook page that it will provide an update at 2pm on Friday.
“We will update our customers if we think the problem is going to persist. At this stage, we can’t speculate as to when it will be up again.”
Update: Absa issued the following update after 5pm on Friday: Absa experienced a technical issue on Friday morning that had the potential to slow or stop customers accessing Internet and mobile banking platforms. The problem is being rectified and service has been partially restored across Absa’s online and mobile banking channels. As the system regains stability, users may experience slower than normal response times when loading certain pages. To assist customers, Absa Internet banking has extended the cut-off time for payments till 6pm today [Friday]. Furthermore, Absa branches have also been assisting customers who have been impacted by the downtime. Customers have also been urged to use Absa branches or its ATM network during this period. The bank sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused. — (c) 2012 NewsCentral Media
