The weekend saw a long line of people at Barclays’ ATMs trying to withdraw what they believed to be ‘free cash’ following a technical breakdown of the bank’s mobile and online services.
Barclays customers faced a two-day outage on Friday and Saturday, which left them unable to access their salaries or pay bills. Although the bank’s digital banking, telephone support, and payment systems experienced issues, cash machines remained operational to a certain extent.
It was discovered that cardholders could withdraw what seemed to be a complimentary £250 from their accounts using high street ATMs. The news quickly spread on TikTok, with one user providing a detailed explanation of how Barclays customers could take advantage of the glitch.
One TikToker in Liverpool remarked, “I’m actually howling at how many people are in their pyjamas at the cash machine because of this Barclays thing.”
However, police in north London began preventing people from making withdrawals, informing them that it was not actually “free cash.” Barclays confirmed that any funds withdrawn would be debited from customer accounts once normal services resumed.
In a separate incident, Lloyds Bank customers also faced payment issues early on Monday morning, which the bank has since resolved. A spokesperson confirmed, “We know some customers had issues receiving payments this morning, but this is back to normal. They should not make the payment again. Our online banking, app, and telephone banking have been working as normal all morning. We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused.”