DBS, POSB internet banking services restored after hours-long disruption
Some users reported that they could not log in to internet banking, while others said they could not use PayLah! or PayNow payment services.
SINGAPORE: DBS and POSB internet banking and payment services have been restored after they went down for several hours on Thursday (May 2).
DBS and POSB digibank online and mobile services returned to normal at 7.37pm and 7.41pm respectively, the bank said in an update. Services on DBS PayLah! returned to normal at 8.03pm.
The bank had earlier said at 6.54pm – about an hour after the outage was first reported by users – that it was aware of the issues.
"We have identified the issue and have activated measures to recover the services," said the bank. "You can continue to use your DBS/POSB credit or debit cards to make payment."
It added that people could also use the ATMs nearest to them.
DBS Wealth clients could contact their relationship managers to place trades, while Vickers and mTrading customers should contact the Vickers hotline at 63272288 for help.
"Please be assured that your monies and deposits remain safe. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused," it said at the time.
Downdetector showed that users started reporting disruptions with DBS internet banking services at about 5.45pm.
In a notice to users on its mobile app, DBS said: "Access to digital services is currently unavailable. We are resolving the issue and will update as soon as services are recovered."
In another error message, it said that it was experiencing heavy traffic to its services and urged people to login later.
Users commented on the bank's latest Facebook post about the latest outage.
In the first of these comments at about 5.58pm, a user said: "Your iBanking is down pls fix it!"
Customers reported being unable to access services on the DBS' mobile app and website platforms. Another user reported that he could "log in but can't make any transfer".
Many users also described their frustration at being unable to pay for food or drinks during dinner time.
The latest disruption comes two days after the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said that it would not seek to extend the six-month pause on the bank's non-essential activities.
On Tuesday, MAS said that it would not seek to extend the six-month pause on non-essential activities that it imposed on DBS after the bank's multiple service disruptions in 2023.
MAS added that it will retain the multiplier of 1.8 times for DBS' risk-weighted assets for operational risk until the bank "has demonstrated the ability to maintain service availability and reliability, and handle any disruptions effectively".
The penalty was imposed in May 2023, up from the 1.5 times that was implemented in February 2022.
The authority noted on Tuesday that DBS has since made "substantive progress" to address the shortcomings identified from the service disruptions last year, even as efforts to implement its remediation plan are ongoing.
MAS said it would closely monitor the bank's progress and the effectiveness of the measures.
"In the event of service disruptions, MAS expects DBS to promptly recover its services and communicate to its customers in a clear and timely manner," it said.
DBS said on Tuesday that being able to resume its activities "will not dilute its focus on strengthening technology resiliency and enhancing digital service availability".
RECORD PROFITS
DBS, Singapore's largest lender, announced earlier on Thursday that its financial results for the first quarter of the year had surpassed expectations.
It expects net profit to exceed last year's record result.
The bank's net profit jumped 15 per cent from the same period a year earlier to S$2.96 billion (US$2.2 billion), compared with market expectations for a 3.5 per cent decline.
DBS CEO Piyush Gupta said that the bank has been working on improving service availability, better monitoring and recovering services more quickly in the event that something goes wrong.
"We've done a lot of the heavy lifting, but in truth, we still have more work to do," he said.
In response to a question from the media, the CEO said DBS has completed around 90 per cent of what needs to be done, but there are still some things to be addressed.
"If I were to hazard a guess in terms of what we need to get done, it's going to take us most of this year," he said.
Cna. (2024f, May 2). DBS, POSB internet banking services restored after hours-long disruption. CNA. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/dbs-posb-internet-banking-services-down-users-payment-paylah-paynow-4308641