An alarming number of people with empty bank accounts have been able to withdraw hundreds of dollars in cash due to an error in banks’ technology systems. The issue, which has been identified by banks across the world, is believed to be related to the way funds are moved around via the banking system.
The issue has been causing chaos for those affected, particularly those who are residing in other countries. One woman recounted her experience of finding hundreds of dollars debited from her empty account at an ATM in London, despite having no funds stored at the account.
The problem appears to have occurred as a result of a lag in technology. Bank systems need to transfer inforomation back and forth to ensure the money can be moved from a bank account to a resulting account. In this case, however, it appears the technology involved has failed to correctly recognise which accounts need to be credited. As a result, those who happen to own an account at the same bank but have no money stored in it have been able to access money that should not be available to them.
Banks have spoken out about the issue, saying that they are doing all they can to investigate the cause and are working to fix the problem swiftly. They insist that customers who have experienced any kind of problem should speak to their bank in order to have their money refunded.
However, customers have expressed their annoyance at the issue, with one saying that the banks must have known about the error weeks prior and not done anything to solve it.
This isn’t the only tech error to have plagued banks recently. Just days before this one, banks in another region experienced a similar problem with customers suddenly finding themselves with extra money in their accounts, and banks had to take steps to fix the mistake.
Banking technology has improved significantly in recent years, but this incident is a reminder that more still needs to be done in order to ensure that technology does not let people access funds that they are not entitled to. Banks should take this opportunity to review their processes and protocols to ensure that the same mistake does not occur again.
