Kiwibank and Westpac Fix Widespread Banking Outages Affecting Thousands

Banking services for thousands of Kiwibank and Westpac customers have been restored after widespread outages disrupted online and mobile banking across New Zealand on Wednesday afternoon.

Both banks confirmed their internet banking platforms were back online by 3pm, following technical problems that left customers unable to access their accounts for several hours.

The issues began emerging around 2pm, with frustrated customers taking to social media to report problems accessing their banking apps and websites. By 2.20pm, 222 people had reported issues with the Westpac app on outage tracking website Downdetector.

Westpac acknowledged the problems around 2.40pm, saying some customers were experiencing difficulty accessing Westpac One online banking.

"Our technical teams are urgently investigating. We apologise for the inconvenience," the bank said.

An hour later, Westpac announced the issue had been resolved and access to Westpac One had been restored.

Kiwibank customers faced similar disruptions, with the bank's app displaying error messages reading: "Something went wrong at our end. We're working hard to fix this for you as soon as possible."

"We're working to restore services, and we apologise for the inconvenience," Kiwibank said, while reassuring customers that cards and ATMs remained operational throughout the outage.

By 3pm, Kiwibank confirmed internet banking was back up and running, with some users regaining access to the mobile app. The bank's technical team continued working to restore services for all remaining customers.

The timing of the outages proved particularly frustrating for customers trying to manage their finances mid-week. One customer complained on social media about being unable to transfer money to pay bills.

Another customer explained their predicament: "I don't keep a lot of money in my everyday card account due to the paywave stuff (had my card stolen before) and I can't pay my rent yet as it's not set up on direct debit."

Both banks have not disclosed what caused the technical problems, but the swift resolution suggests the issues were quickly identified and addressed by their respective IT teams.

The outages highlight the increasing reliance on digital banking services, with many customers now dependent on mobile apps and online platforms for their day-to-day banking needs.