Nationwide banking app outage leaves thousands unable to access accounts
More than 2,000 reports logged as customers across the UK face mobile and internet banking disruption
Nationwide Building Society experienced a widespread outage on Tuesday afternoon that left thousands of customers unable to access online or mobile banking services.
The disruption began shortly after 2 p.m. BST on 9 September 2025, according to data from DownDetector, which logged more than 2,000 reports. Of the incidents reported, about 48% related to online banking, 37% to mobile banking and 15% to check-out services.
Customers across the country — including in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow — reported being unable to log in. Messages posted on X showed users receiving an on-screen message that the service was experiencing technical issues and asking when the app would be available again. The official Nationwide account on X said: "The team are working swiftly to get things back to normal as soon as possible." A Nationwide spokesperson confirmed both the banking app and internet banking were unavailable while engineers investigated.
DownDetector compiles outage information from social media, user reports to its website and other online sources, and it reports an incident when problem reports exceed typical volumes for the time of day. The cause of the Nationwide outage was not immediately clear. The outlet that first reported the issue said it had contacted Nationwide for further information.
Consumer group Which? said banking app outages often stem from IT glitches or maintenance updates and advised affected customers to contact their branch by phone or in person if they urgently needed access to funds. Reena Sewraz, retail editor at Which?, warned that outages can have knock-on effects for customers, especially at payroll times, saying customers could miss bill payments, be unable to pay for essential services or risk going overdrawn, with potential fees or impacts to credit.
Which? urged customers to keep evidence of any impacted payments in case they need to make a claim and to contact companies owed payments to request fee waivers. The group also recommended trying bank telephone services and, if those are unavailable, using the bank's verified social media accounts for guidance while avoiding sharing account details publicly.
Financial-service outages remain a recurring operational risk for major banks and building societies as customer reliance on digital channels grows. Industry and consumer groups say prompt communication, clear compensation policies and contingency measures such as branch access or alternative payment routes are critical to limiting harm when services fail.
Nationwide did not provide a timescale for restoration at the time of the reports. Customers unable to access accounts were advised to seek assistance through branches, phone lines or the society's official online channels and to retain records of any losses caused by the outage for potential reimbursement or dispute resolution.