Error In Bank Allows To Withdraw Money They Don’t Have

A technical glitch at the Bank of Ireland led to an incident where some customers were able to withdraw funds upto $1000 which they did not have from Tuesday to early Wednesday.

The issue, which also disrupted the bank’s online services, allowed customers to exceed their normal withdrawal and transfer limits.

Reports circulated on social media with images of people queuing at ATMs in hopes of accessing these unintended funds. The police were also present at some ATMs due to the increased activity.

An Garda Síochána, Ireland’s national police, acknowledged the unusual ATM activity, responding based on public safety and order. The bank clarified that despite the glitch, the withdrawals would still be considered debits on customer accounts.

The Bank of Ireland emphasized that the unauthorized transfers and withdrawals would be applied to customers’ accounts, urging those in financial trouble due to overdrawing to get in touch.

The technical issue not only affected physical withdrawals but also disrupted online and mobile app services. Some customers voiced frustrations about being unable to access their accounts for essential transactions like buying food. This wasn’t the first time technical problems had struck the bank, with a similar glitch in June causing disruptions to online services.

Although the Bank of Ireland restored its online services, the app’s performance might be slower as the bank processes delayed payments. The bank issued an apology for the disruption and acknowledged its failure to meet customer expectations. Ireland’s Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath, called for a comprehensive investigation by the Central Bank of Ireland to determine the cause of the outage and preventive measures for the future. The Central Bank confirmed its collaboration with the Bank of Ireland to resolve the issues and continued monitoring of the situation.