Barclays app outage leaves customers unable to make payments or withdraw cash

Barclays customers across the U.K. reported being unable to make payments or withdraw cash after the bank's app and payment services experienced an outage on Saturday morning.

Monitoring site Down Detector recorded more than 600 reports relating to payments and refunds, with users saying card payments, contactless transactions and bank transfers were affected. The first reports emerged at about 8:30 a.m., according to users on the platform.

Customers posted complaints on social media and on Down Detector, describing failed payments at tills and cards that would not work. One user wrote, "Surprise, surprise, Barclays online banking is down again.....this is not the first time, nor will it be the last. I do not understand how a bank of such size and calibre is allowed to have such a useless online banking system." Another said customers did not have time for the disruption and urged the bank to "sort it out," while a third reported that the app showed no cards available and that a payment attempt at a supermarket failed.

A Barclays spokesperson said earlier on Saturday that some customers had been unable to access services and that the bank was looking into the issue. The bank did not immediately provide a detailed timeline for service restoration.

The outage affected both app-based and card transactions, leaving some customers unable to use contactless payments or complete bank transfers. Incidents like this can rapidly translate into consumer frustration, as digital access to accounts increasingly substitutes for branch visits and cash handling.

Barclays is among the largest retail banks in the U.K., and outages that disrupt payments raise questions about operational resilience and contingency measures for high-volume consumer services. Customers relying on mobile banking for everyday purchases and bill payments can face immediate practical difficulties when systems fail.

By midafternoon, reports on outage-tracking sites had fluctuated as some users regained access while others continued to experience problems. Barclays did not disclose the cause of the disruption in its initial comment.

Regulators and industry observers typically monitor such incidents for their potential impact on consumers and on wider payment systems, though there was no immediate indication that wider infrastructure beyond Barclays customers was affected. Barclays customers seeking confirmation or updates were directed to the bank’s official channels.