Nationwide Banking App Outage Causes Disruption for Thousands of UK Customers

Latest Service Disruption

Nationwide experienced a significant technical outage on September 9, 2025, causing its banking app and Internet Bank to become unavailable across the UK. The disruption was substantial enough to prompt nearly 1,900 users to report problems on Downdetector.

Impact and Duration

The mobile banking app and internet banking services at Britain’s biggest building society were down this afternoon, with the outage lasting from approximately 2:44 PM until services were restored around 4 PM.

During the outage, Nationwide issued updates on their website regarding service status and warned members about potential payment delays. However, customers could still perform basic functions such as moving cash between accounts, using cards online and in shops, and withdrawing money at cash machines.

Growing Concern Over Banking Outages

The incident has drawn attention from the Treasury Committee of MPs, particularly as several high street lenders have experienced service disruptions on consecutive pay days. Nationwide’s track record shows concerning trends – they reported seven IT failure incidents in 2023, affecting customers for 1,577 minutes, which increased to eleven incidents in 2024, impacting services for 2,649 minutes.

Expert Commentary

Martin Quinn, director of Campaign for Cash, has highlighted that these recurring banking outages demonstrate an over-reliance on technology. He emphasizes the continued importance of maintaining a strong bank branch network for face-to-face banking services when digital systems fail.

Customer Impact and Response

Customers took to social media to express their frustration, reporting various issues including delayed transfers between accounts and balances not updating properly. Some users reported problems with transfers between Nationwide and other banks, such as NatWest, not being reflected in their account balances.