Bank of Ireland (BofI) has confirmed it is still experiencing technical issues which is affecting use of its online services, just days after a major computer fault caused difficulties for customers.
The bank said this afternoon that while all ATM, Laser, branch and telephone banking functions have been fully restored, some customers are still having difficulty loggin into the Banking 365 website.
BofI is encouraging online banking users to use its telephone banking service while the problem persists. The bank added that it expects to have all services shortly.
The bank's network of branches are open as normal.
BofI said yesterday it would not penalise thousands of customers who overdrew their accounts during a major computer fault this week.
The bank said it would refund fees and allow an interest-free period for repayment of the overdrawn amount to customers who “inadvertently” withdrew more than was in their accounts.
“A small minority” of the bank’s 1.2 million customers took advantage of the malfunction of ATMs on Tuesday evening by overdrawing their accounts, it said.
Long queues formed at many of the bank’s machines on Tuesday evening as word spread that it was possible to overdraw accounts. Meanwhile, customers whose accounts were in funds experienced difficulties withdrawing all the cash they wanted.
The bank has confirmed that its systems experienced “connectivity issues between some customer systems” due to a technical issue. This resulted in restrictions in Laser and ATM services and limited service on phone and online banking systems.
BofI sought to reassure customers that its core processing systems operated normally during the problems. It said the processing of direct debits, standing orders and international payments was not affected.
The bank added that most customers who used ATMs or bought items using Laser were accommodated. But it apologised to anyone who had a transaction declined or received less cash than they required. “We can confirm that a small minority of customers withdrew funds in excess of their available balance which has created an unauthorised overdraft position for them for which they are liable.”
The bank has declined to put a figure on the cost of the computer error which led to the problems.