Some Commonwealth Bank users found themselves unable to transfer money using their banking app on Saturday morning because of an outage for maintenance work.<\/p>\n
Commonwealth Bank \u2014 which refers to itself as CommBank for short \u2014 said the outage was planned but went for longer than expected.<\/p>\n
Services were back online by 10:25am AEST, but the bank flagged delays in processing payments and transfers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the bank confirmed to the ABC that customers were notified about the outage via the banking app several days beforehand.<\/p>\n
Why was CommBank down?<\/p>\n
The bank says it was performing planned maintenance.<\/p>\n
This meant that some of the services were “limited or unavailable”.<\/p>\n
Why couldn’t I transfer on CommBank?<\/p>\n
Because it was one of the services affected by the outage.<\/p>\n
That included:<\/p>\n
Payments and transfers on the CommBank appNetBank and over the phone bankingTravel Money cards \u2014 they can be used to pay and withdraw money, but can’t be topped up from a CommBank accountInternational money transfers<\/p>\n
The bank said debit cards could still be used, but lower limits may apply.<\/p>\n
However, credit cards could still be used as normal.<\/p>\n
Business and Merchant customers were also affected.<\/p>\n
“Merchant EFTPOS terminals and online payments will be available; however, lower limits may apply to CommBank debit cards when using these platforms,” the bank said on its website.<\/p>\n
“Scheduled payments and merchant settlement payments may be processed after the maintenance window.”<\/p>\n
How long was the outage planned for?<\/p>\n
Customers were notified days in advance via the CommBank app, the bank’s spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
However, some customers appeared to have missed those notifications, with Google Trends data showing a high volume of people searching “Why is Commonwealth Bank down?” and “Why can’t I transfer money CommBank?” on Saturday morning.<\/p>\n
Commonwealth Bank posted a “heads up” message about the outage on X on Friday morning, which was met with some criticism.<\/p>\n
“First day of school holidays. Not very good timing people,” one X user said.<\/p>\n
“This is ridiculous. What a stupid time to do this, it’s the weekend,” another said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Commonwealth Bank customers were notified of the outage via the CommBank app. (ABC News: Dannielle Maguire)<\/p>\n
When did the CommBank app come back online?<\/p>\n
The bank originally said the outage was due to end at approximately 9am AEST.<\/p>\n
However, half an hour after it was due to end, the bank posted an update on its website saying the outage was continuing \u2014 estimating services would come back online at 10:30am AEST.<\/p>\n
Here’s a snippet of what the bank said on its website:<\/p>\n
“We commenced planned maintenance this morning and it is taking longer than expected.<\/p>\n
“We expect services to be restored within the next hour.”<\/p>\n
An update at 10:25am AEST said the outage was over.<\/p>\n
“All CommBank banking services are now available following the planned maintenance this morning.<\/p>\n
“We apologise for the disruption and appreciate your patience.”<\/p>\n
However, the bank said there would be a lag in transfers when responding to a complaint from a customer on X.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Payments and transfers from and between CommBank accounts are currently delayed following the scheduled maintenance earlier today,” a spokesperson said via the CommBank account.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We expect these will be processed by the end of today.”<\/p>\n
Be wary of opportunistic scammers<\/p>\n
“At times like this, we know scammers can try to take advantage of the situation,” a Commonwealth Bank spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
“We want to remind people to be extra careful.<\/p>\n
“Remember that we will never ask for personal details like your password, PIN, or to click on a link in an email or text.<\/p>\n
“If something feels off, please stop and check.”<\/p>\n
How do scammers disguise their numbers? <\/a><\/p>\n Your phone says the call is coming from your bank, the caller knows your address and they’re using the same language a banker would use, but it feels off. Here’s why it might be a scammer.<\/p>\n The bank says it will never send you an email or SMS asking you for your banking information including:<\/p>\n card detailsclient numberNetCode<\/p>\n And it’ll never send customers a message with a link to allow them to log in directly from an email or SMS.<\/p>\n So be wary of any messages you receive claiming to be from the bank \u2014 even if they look legitimate.<\/p>\n Thanks to a process called “spoofing” scammers are able to appear as Commonwealth Bank when on your phone.<\/p>\n They can also send messages that appear in threads of previous legitimate messages from the bank \u2014 so don’t just assume the message is real if it comes up in the same conversation with the bank.<\/p>\n Scammers create a false sense of urgency to trick people into responding without thinking, so keep an eye out for messages that try to rush you into responding.<\/p>\n “If you’re ever unsure whether an email, message or phone call is legitimately from CommBank, please message us in the CommBank app, call us on 13 22 21 or visit us in a branch so we can assist you,” the bank’s website said.<\/p>\n How do you report a scammer?<\/p>\n People are encouraged to report scams to the National Anti-Scam Centre’s Scamwatch website<\/a>, regardless of whether they’ve lost money or not.\u00a0<\/p>\n You can report cybercrimes to police through the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s online reporting portal<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you’re concerned you’re a victim of identity theft, you can contact IDCARE<\/a>, a not-for-profit charity that describes itself as Australia’s national identity and cyber support service.<\/p>\n If you or anyone you know needs help:Lifeline<\/a> on 13 11 14Kids Helpline<\/a> on 1800 551 800MensLine Australia<\/a> on 1300 789 978Suicide Call Back Service<\/a> on 1300 659 467Beyond Blue<\/a> on 1300 224 63613YARN<\/a> on 13 92 761800RESPECT<\/a> on 1800 737 732QLife<\/a> on 1800 184 527Loading…<\/p>\n