Prepare alternatives gradually
Think about how you would buy a few essential items if card payments or cash machines were temporarily unavailable. If affordable, keep a modest amount of cash in mixed denominations, stored securely. There is no universal amount that suits every household. Avoid large withdrawals in response to rumours.
During an outage
Check your bank’s official website or app for service messages. If a payment appears to fail, check its status with the bank or merchant before repeatedly retrying. Keep receipts and notes of any charges or missed payments.
Be alert to false support
An outage can give scammers a believable story. Do not move money to a supposed safe account, give a caller security codes or follow a sign-in link in an unexpected message. Contact your bank through a trusted route such as the number on your card.
If you lose out
Raise a complaint with the bank and keep evidence of the disruption and loss. The Financial Ombudsman Service explains when it can consider unresolved complaints about banking IT failures. A temporary outage is not, by itself, evidence that your bank has failed.
Financial Ombudsman: bank outages and IT failures ↗
Check the linked guidance for updates. Follow local instructions during a real incident. This site does not provide live emergency information.