FNB restores some system functionality, Lotto services still unavailable [updated]

On Monday, FNB said in a statement that they are aware that some functionality was temporarily unavailable and that the bank’s IT teams “are working to restore” service.

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Update at 19:13, 9 June 2020 – FNB confirmed that Prepaid telecommunication purchases have been restored:

“Thanks for your patience. Prepaid telecoms purchases via our app are now available. We apologise for any inconvenience caused”.

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The technical issues had many customers frustrated, with some taking to Twitter to express their grief and threaten to switch banks if the problem wasn’t resolved.

FNB technical issues

Users who tried to transact using the app were met with a “system currently unavailable, please try again” error message. One user tweeted:

“Very disappointing that six hours later systems are still not restored. Today was supposed to be an important day, now sitting in the dark watching markets instead of participating. Time to replace Hogan and the ageing backbone?”

Another added the FNB’s “insincere apologies won’t bring back [their] wealth”. Needless to say, FNB’s friendly service team, RbJacobs, had their hands full with angry clients.

“We put our income and savings into your bank. We were decieved [sic] by your marketing and advertisements on share investor app! Your apology can only be accepted if you compensate us for the losses”.

Service restored

Foreign Exchange, Prepaid Telecommunications, Share Trading

On Tuesday, FNB apologised again “for the inconvenience caused due to some functionality being temporarily unavailable on our banking channels”, and added:

“While most banking services have not been affected and remain available to customers, we are pleased to report that the challenges experienced with respect to Foreign Exchange, Prepaid Telecommunications as well as our Share Trading services have been resolved”.

Apart from the issues on the banking app, users were also struggling to complete transactions via phone banking and the website:

Unavailable services

Lotto, PayPal, Prepaid Electricity and FNB Connect

However, FNB also acknowledged that several services are still offline. At the time of publishing, the following services were still unavailable:

“Our teams are working to resolve issues related to Lotto, PayPal, Prepaid Electricity and FNB Connect, which remains our utmost priority”.

One user remarked that they were unable to purchase airtime on Monday night. While doing e-wallet transfers today, the user was met with an error message saying their daily limit had been exceeded, while it wasn’t the case.

Several users demanded feedback after their complaints went unattended, while others demanded refunds. One user said that “FNB is becoming the worst bank by far”, and added:

“I have spent so much airtime trying to get assistance. I was recently mugged and they took my phone. Had to get a new phone now; with the current COVID-19, I can’t even access my 32-days notice account.”