'A Terrifying Experience:' MPs Reveal UK Banks Had 33 Days of IT Failures — And It's Getting Worse

Britain's biggest banks have experienced their IT systems failing for an entire month's worth of hours over the past two years — and new research suggests the problem is accelerating into 2026.

Data published by the Treasury Committee revealed that nine of the UK's largest banks and building societies accumulated at least 803 hours of unplanned IT outages between January 2023 and February 2025. That amounts to more than 33 days during which millions of customers could not access their money.

During this period, at least 158 separate IT failures affected institutions including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, Santander, NatWest, Danske Bank, Bank of Ireland, and Allied Irish Bank. The banks attributed these failures to issues with third-party suppliers, system changes, and internal software malfunctions.

Dame Meg Hillier, Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, did not mince words. 'For families and individuals living pay cheque to pay cheque, losing access to banking services on payday can be a terrifying experience,' she said. 'Even when rectified relatively quickly, it can cause real panic.'

One Family Left Homeless, Millions Left Stranded

The human cost of these failures became painfully clear during Barclays' three-day outage in 2025. The incident began on payday and coincided with the HMRC self-assessment deadline.

According to the Business Continuity Institute, one family was left temporarily homeless after the bank's systems collapsed midway through their house purchase. Bill payments went unpaid, mortgage transactions stalled, and customers faced inaccurate account balances for days.

Barclays confirmed to MPs that 56% of online payments failed during the incident due to what it described as 'severe degradation' of mainframe processing performance. The bank estimates it will pay between £5 million ($6.7 million) and £7.5 million ($10.06 million) in compensation for this single incident, bringing its potential total payout over the two-year period to £12.5 million ($16.7 million).

Why This Will Keep Happening This Year

Fresh research paints an even more concerning picture for 2026.

A November 2025 survey by financial services consultancy GFT found that the average major IT outage now costs UK investment banks more than £600,000 ($805,434) per hour. The study, which surveyed over 200 IT decision-makers, revealed that these banks suffered approximately four major customer-facing outages in the past 12 months.

The root of the problem runs deeper than occasional glitches. According to September 2025 research from banking technology firm SaaScada, UK banks are spending £3.3 billion ($4.4 billion) annually — 24% of their entire IT budgets — solely on maintaining outdated legacy systems.

More than half of the 150 banking leaders surveyed described their core platforms as a 'bottomless pit' for time and money. Nearly seven in 10 said the growing demand for digital services is straining infrastructure that cannot keep pace.

Steve Round, President of SaaScada, warned: 'Legacy core systems are breaking, and things will only get worse. For some banks, it could potentially be game over if the status quo continues.'

Digital Banks Pull Ahead While Giants Stumble

While traditional lenders struggle with these issues, digital-only banks like Monzo have built reputations for tech-driven reliability.

Matej Pfajfar, Monzo's Chief Technology Officer, told City AM that such payment outages fall 'well below the level of service that the industry should be providing, and that customers rightly expect.'

Robert Kraal, founder of payments firm Silverflow, offered a blunt assessment: 'The sheer number of complaints shows this is a systemic issue, not an isolated incident. The time for incremental fixes is over.'

For millions of Britons who depend on digital banking — especially as high street branches continue to disappear — the question is stark: how long until the next crash locks you out of your own money?