How to pay when your banking app isn't working
Try your card first. Monzo says your card often still works at tills and cash machines even if the app won't load, and that Apple Pay and Google Pay should keep working for contactless payments. Banks list the app, online banking, cards and payments as separate services on their status pages, so one can be down while the others work.
Quick answer
If your banking app won't load, check your bank's service status page to see what's affected. Your card, Apple Pay or Google Pay may still work in shops and at cash machines. For a transfer, try online banking in a browser, telephone banking or a branch. Keep receipts or screenshots if the outage costs you, and complain to the bank.
Can I still use my card if the app is down?
Often, yes. Monzo's guidance, last reviewed in August 2026, says: "Your card often still works at tills and cash machines, even if the app won't load." It also says Apple Pay and Google Pay should keep working for contactless payments, even when the app isn't loading properly.
That isn't a promise for every bank or every outage, which is why the status page matters. Banks split their services up. NatWest's service status page lists Mobile App, Online Banking and Websites under one heading, Payments, Credit Cards and Debit Cards under another, and Branch, ATM Network and Telephone Services under a third. HSBC's page, when we checked it on 30 October 2026, showed a planned disruption to mobile and online banking while listing card transactions, payment services, phone banking, branches and ATMs as working normally.
How do I check what's down?
Use your bank's own status page. Barclays' help page for app errors says you can check its service status, and Monzo points customers to status.monzo.com.
- Search for your bank's name and "service status", and open the page on the bank's own website. NatWest's is at natwest.com/service-status and HSBC's at hsbc.co.uk/service-status.
- Look at which service is affected: the app, online banking, cards, payments or cash machines.
- If cards and payments show as working, pay with your card or phone wallet as normal.
- If you get an error code in the app, Barclays suggests looking up what the code means on its error code search page.
How do I make a payment without the app?
Use another channel the bank runs. Barclays' help pages list Online Banking, Telephone Banking and In branch as ways to bank alongside its app. Santander says that if your phone is too old to run its app, you can use Online Banking with the same login details.
Some banks have a backup for when the app goes down. Monzo describes Monzo Stand-in, a backup it can activate during outages, which it says lets customers make payments, withdraw cash, freeze their card, and send and receive bank transfers even if the main Monzo app goes down.
If online banking is down at the same time, which can happen during planned maintenance, telephone banking or a branch may still be open. Check the status page before you travel.
What can I try on my phone first?
The problem may be your phone or connection rather than the bank. Barclays suggests updating your phone's software and the app, switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data, relaunching the app and restarting your phone. Our guide on what to do when a banking app is down has Apple's and Google's steps. Santander says its app needs iOS 16 or Android 10 or higher, and that you won't be able to log on to it on an older version.
What if a payment fails or I miss a bill?
Keep a record. Monzo says to keep receipts or screenshots if an outage causes you a problem. NatWest says that if you approve an online payment and it's declined, contact the retailer first to see how you can make the payment securely.
If the outage left you out of pocket, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) sets out how to complain:
- Contact the bank. Tell it what happened and when, and ask it to put things right. Make a record of how and when you got in touch.
- Wait for its answer. In general a firm must give you the outcome in writing within 8 weeks. Payment service providers and e-money firms must normally answer certain complaints within 15 business days, or 35 business days if they can't give a final answer sooner.
- If you're unhappy with the answer, contact the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free. The FCA says to do this within 6 months of the firm's final response.
Banks have paid customers after outages before. The FCA said on 20 December 2022 that TSB had paid £32.7m in redress to customers who suffered detriment after the technical failures that followed its IT migration in April 2018.
What about texts about the outage?
Be wary of any message about an outage that asks for your details or a passcode. Our guide to scam texts after a bank outage covers what banks say they will never ask, and how to forward a suspicious text to 7726. For what Google says caused the 20 October 2026 outage, see our Google Cloud outage guide.
More questions
Will cash machines work if my banking app is down?
They may. Monzo says your card often still works at cash machines when the app won't load. Banks list ATMs as a separate service on their status pages. When we checked on 30 October 2026, NatWest's page said that during cash machine maintenance on 4 November its debit card holders would not be able to use machines run by other financial institutions, so check the page first.
Does Apple Pay or Google Pay work when the bank's app is down?
Monzo says Apple Pay and Google Pay should keep working for contactless payments, even when its app isn't loading properly. Check your bank's status page to see whether its card service is affected.
Why does my banking app stop working in the middle of the night?
Often it's planned maintenance. NatWest says it carries out essential maintenance in the early hours, from 2am to 2.15am. HSBC's status page listed disruption to mobile and online banking on Sunday 1 November 2026 from 02:00 to 03:30 for routine maintenance.
Can I get compensation for a banking app outage?
There's no automatic payment, but you can complain. The FCA's process is to ask the bank to put things right, then go to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you're unhappy with its final response. Keep receipts, screenshots and a note of when you contacted the bank.