Technical faults that lasted for several hours on Tuesday, 15 August, meant that Bank of Ireland ATM customers could withdraw a lot more money than they intended or even had in their accounts.
Videos circulating have shown the chaos of gardai around the country manning Bank of Ireland ATMs after a supposed glitch allowed customers to withdraw large sums of money, regardless of what money they held in their accounts.
These videos shared on social media also show huge queues forming at ATMs around the country, with those in them hopeful of gaining some extra cash.
While the issue was said to have lasted for several hours on Tuesday, Bank of Ireland said these technical faults had been resolved by Wednesday morning.
Bank of Ireland glitch allowed customers to withdraw extra cash – a night of chaos
Large queues formed at Bank of Ireland ATMs around the country as customers learned of a technical glitch that allowed them to withdraw up to €1,000, even if they didn’t have that kind of money in their accounts.
Complaints from Bank of Ireland customers online were that due to the glitch, they were unable to access their online banking app or their online accounts.
A spokesperson for the bank said, “Yesterday a technical issue impacted a number of Bank of Ireland’s services. Our teams restored these services overnight and all services are available to customers this morning. Overnight payments to accounts may appear throughout the day.
“We are aware that the technical issue meant some customers were able to withdraw or transfer funds above their normal limits.
“We sincerely apologise for the disruption this outage caused – we know we fell far below the standards our customers expect from us”.
The Gardaí response – manning ATMs around the country
While many customers turned up at ATMs to seemingly exploit the issue, photos and videos circulated around social media of gardaí blocking access to ATMs around the country.
The decision to bring gardaí in to block people from queuing at the Bank of Ireland ATMs has raised some criticism and questions from the public.
One person on social media said, “It’s sad to see the real priorities for the Garda force and government”.
People have also speculated about whether or not those who withdrew funds beyond their means will have to return the money.
A Bank of Ireland spokesperson said on the matter, “We would like to remind customers that if they transfer or withdraw funds – including over their normal limits – this money will be debited from their account.
“While we are conscious customers may not be able to check their balance at this time, they should not withdraw or transfer funds if they are likely to become overdrawn”.
