Google Cloud services banks hit by UK outage
Linked a UK outage to a “power event,” disrupting services used by banks and courts. Revolut confirmed a third-party issue, while customers reported missing…
Google Cloud services banks rely on were disrupted in the UK after the company said a “power event” affected online services, including banking apps and a court video platform. Revolut confirmed its disruption was caused by a third-party issue, while customers reported missing investment balances and problems accessing services.
The outage also affected services at Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, though the link between their reported problems and Google Cloud was not officially confirmed. Google did not provide a clear timeline for resolving the incident.
Google Cloud outage affects banks and courts
Google Cloud reported an “issue with multiple services” at its UK data centre complex, “europe-west2.” Its service health dashboard flagged elevated errors and intermittent network failures affecting some services. Google said it was investigating and apologised to people affected.
The incident was first indicated on the dashboard on Monday evening UK time. Google updated its notice in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The company did not say when services would return to normal.
Revolut users described investment screens showing blank balances and difficulties making transactions. The company’s status page listed cryptocurrency and stock trading as partially unavailable. A person familiar with the situation told Reuters that Revolut’s problems were connected to the Google Cloud outage.
Revolut also confirmed a third-party issue to the BBC. “We can confirm that all our customers' money and data are safe,” a spokesperson said. The company said it had been working to fix the disruption since it was identified that morning.
There were more than 1,500 reports of problems affecting Revolut on Downdetector shortly after 08:00 BST on Tuesday, the BBC reported. Users also reported failed card payments, inaccessible bank accounts and disrupted transfers across Europe. The full scale of the trading disruption remained unclear, and Revolut had not confirmed how many investors could not execute orders.
What the disruption means for customers
When a cloud provider has problems, the effects can reach people trying to check balances, pay by card or manage investments through a separate financial service. For Revolut customers, the outage affected access to trading as well as banking functions, according to reports cited by the BBC and BeInCrypto.
That matters particularly for crypto investors because digital assets trade around the clock, according to BeInCrypto. A blank portfolio screen or failed transaction can leave a customer unable to see holdings or place an order while prices are changing. The available reporting does not establish that any blockchain network itself failed.
The disruption also reached services outside banking. HM Courts and Tribunals Service said it was aware of a problem affecting the video platform used for remote hearings. Delivery firm DPD reported connection issues.
Lloyds Banking Group said its app was functioning normally, while acknowledging reports of trouble with some online services. A spokesperson told the BBC: “We are aware of similar issues affecting other organisations and are monitoring the situation closely.”
Google Cloud said its UK infrastructure had experienced “elevated errors and intermittent network failures.” Its spokesperson said: “we are investigating this further”. The company has not announced a recovery time.
Source: finance.yahoo.com
