File photo. Photo: 123rf
Some Westpac customers in New Zealand are reporting issues paying with their Eftpos cards, or finding their account balance shows zero dollars.
The bank posted on social media that it was aware some people were "experiencing issues" with "some card services" as well as with online banking.
It apologised and said it was working on a fix as soon as possible.
@WestpacNZ what is happening? I have had 2 different issues with my accounts today. Now cannot even access it. Have you been hacked?
— Victoria Smith (@vsvictory) February 9, 2024
Downdetector, a website that logs internet outages, had more than 100 reports on the bank by 6.30pm this evening.
A Westpac NZ spokesperson said in a statement: "We're experiencing an issue in which a small subset of customers are unable to access Westpac One online banking or card services.
"We're aware of the issue and teams are actively working on a fix. We apologise to any impacted customers."
One man, who did not wish to be named, said he just landed from Australia and he and his wife's debit cards had been declined when they tried to use them at the airport.
He said he got a "hell of a shock" when he opened his online banking and it showed all his accounts having $0.
He thought his money had been stolen somehow but he called the bank and was told there was a technical problem and they were working on it.
He said he was told a fix could be an hour or as late as tomorrow morning and that "everyone was working on it".
Another woman came home from a dinner out in tears after having all her cards declined.
There are numerous comments on Westpac's Facebook page sharing similar experiences.
Replying to the comments, the bank said it was really sorry.
"It's not fraud, it's a technical issue in which people's accounts are showing as zero balance.
"We're working hard to fix this. Sorry again!"
