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Santander customers across the UK were unable to access mobile banking, online banking and several customer-support channels on Friday after a major technical outage disrupted the bank’s digital services.
The problems began at about 11.30am UK time on September 25, according to outage-monitoring website Down Detector, with reports coming from customers across the country.
Santander confirmed that it was experiencing a widespread service disruption affecting its Online Banking and Mobile Banking services, as well as its telephone and chat support channels.
The bank did not initially provide a cause for the outage or a timetable for restoring full service.
Santander customers unable to access money
Customers reported being unable to log into their accounts, make transfers or move money between accounts.
Some customers said the outage had left them unable to carry out important payments and transfers.
Santander acknowledged the disruption in a message to affected customers, saying it was working to restore services.
The bank apologised for the disruption and asked customers for patience while its teams worked on the problem.
The outage was particularly disruptive because Santander customers were simultaneously reporting problems with several ways of contacting the bank. That meant customers who could not access the app or online banking also faced difficulties reaching support by telephone or chat.
Santander has not publicly identified the technical cause of the incident in the information provided.
Santander UK reported 13.6 million active customers in 2025, according to figures cited in the Independent report. The bank also held around £184 billion in customer deposits, alongside its mortgage and other financial businesses.
Santander’s 2025 annual report was published in March 2026.
UK banking is increasingly dependent on mobile apps
The Santander disruption comes as banking in Britain has become increasingly digital.
Online banking penetration reached 88% of the UK adult population in 2024, according to Statista, while mobile banking has continued to expand.
The concentration of everyday banking activity in mobile applications means an outage can affect customers even when their bank’s physical branches remain open.
Lloyds Banking Group, for example, says it has around 22 million mobile-app users, who log on approximately seven billion times a year across the group’s digital banking services.
The wider UK banking-app market includes both traditional lenders and digital-only banks. Recent app-download data shows strong demand for challenger banks as well as established banking brands.
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