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TSB offers interest rate sweetener as IT issues continue at the bank
TSB is offering customers higher interest rate to go towards making up for the problems its core banking system migration caused customers
TSB has said its mobile and internet banking is back up and running, but some customers are still experiencing issues as the bank’s IT crisis seems to be coming under control.
Entering the third week of the crisis, some customers reported continued problems accessing accounts. The bank has now increased the interest rate it offers on one of its current accounts and waived overdraft fees.
The bank has advised customers still having trouble using mobile services to make sure they have the latest version of the app and, if problems persist, to “try closing your mobile app fully and then restarting it, or closing your internet browser and trying again”.
“If you are having difficulty getting to internet banking through your bookmarks or saved links, please go directly to the TSB website and click to login,” it said. “Please don’t forget to update your bookmarks.”
The problems began on 20 April, when TSB embarked on the transfer of millions of customer accounts from the systems of Lloyds Bank, which hosted them, to a new core banking system from Sabadell, which acquired TSB in 2015.
Last week, TSB was forced to explain itself to MPs on the Treasury Committee, such was the extent of the problems caused for customers. Some customers reported money seemingly disappearing from sight, while others reported that their balances showed more money than they add. There were even reports that customers could view the accounts of others.
In a bid to “put things right”, in its words, TSB is increasing the interest it pays to customers that use one of its current accounts. It is also waiving overdraft fees and interest charges that resulted from the problems.
Read more about TSB’s IT problems
- TSB customers have experienced a weekend of problems with online banking services as the bank migrates from Lloyds Bank systems to its new core banking system.
- The Information Commissioner’s Office and the Financial Conduct Authority are assessing the IT meltdown at TSB that led to some customer accounts being seen by other customers.
- TSB’s very public IT problems will send shivers down the spine of IT teamsat large banks that are yet to migrate to new core banking systems.
- TSB chaos: When choosing a bank, people should look at core banking platform and not just funky apps.
“We’re aware problems accessing your accounts may have caused you to go overdrawn. To put this right, we’ll waive any overdraft fees and interest charges, as well as any returned item fees incurred during your March and April billing periods.
“We are also increasing the interest rate on our Classic Plus account from 3% to 5%. We promise this won’t be taken away after a year.” The Classic Plus account pays the interest for balances up to £1,500.
TSB’s board appointed law firm Slaughter and May to investigate what went wrong, and the CEO has pointed to middleware problems as the cause of the chaos for many customers. TSB also hired IBM to help it fix the problems.
