At least 158 banking IT failure incidents at nine of the UK's largest banks and building societies have affected millions of banking customers’ ability to access services in the last two years, new data published by the Treasury Committee has revealed.

These firms accumulated at least 803 hours, the equivalent of more than 33 days, of unplanned tech and systems outages between January 2023 and February 2025.

The Treasury Committee’s data referenced information from Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, Santander, NatWest, Danske Bank, Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Bank.

It did not include the most recent outages affecting Barclays customers between 31 January and 2 February and various banks on 28 February, which prompted concern among MPs. The Committee said it would request further information from the organisations involved in both those instances.

“For families and individuals living paycheck to paycheck, losing access to banking services on payday can be a terrifying experience,” chair of the Treasury Select Committee, Meg Hillier MP, said.

“Even when rectified relatively quickly, it can cause real panic, which is why we wanted to get a proper understanding of why unplanned banking outages happen and how banks and building societies respond. And we know some can go on for several days.

“The fact there has been enough outages to fill a whole month within the last two years shows customers’ frustrations are completely valid. The reality is that this data shows even the most successful banks and building societies hit technical glitches. What’s critical is they react swiftly and ensure customers are kept informed throughout.”

The nine banks and building societies were asked the same questions on outages in outgoing letters from the Chair of the Treasury Committee last month, with Barclays asked additional questions about its response to its 31 January to 2 February outage.

Common reasons given for the IT failures include problems with third-party suppliers, disruption caused by a change in systems and internal software malfunctions.

Managing director of operational resilience at banking trade body, UK Finance, David Raw, added: “The banking industry invests billions in systems and technology to ensure customers have easy and convenient access to their money across a range of channels. This ongoing investment means incidents which cause significant disruption happen very rarely.

“Unfortunately, there are occasions when some services are unavailable and we recognise this can cause inconvenience for customers. If an issue arises the bank will work extremely hard to rectify it as quickly as possible and minimise the customer impact. Banks also keep customers updated and supported, including paying compensation where appropriate.”

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