Warning: Have A Stash Of Cash

Lloyds says crash fixed after millions left without access to cash. Millions of bank customers were left with no access to their money on Friday afternoon after systems issues at two separate banking groups led to cards being declined at check outs and cash points, and the banks’ online systems freezing up. Customers of the Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland, were unable to use cash machines or debit cards, and struggled to bank online. The Co-operative Bank and Smile were also affected by system problems, in a situation reminiscent of the high-profile IT issue at Royal Bank of Scotland in June, which left millions of its customers without cash for several days. Lloyds said that its systems were up and running again at 4pm and promised that it was “working hard to process the transactions impacted by this problem”. “They will be resolved by the close of play today,” a spokesman said. “We know our customers rely on us, and we apologise for the inconvenience we have caused them,” he added. The bank’s telephone systems were also affected while customers were unable to withdraw money in their branches, which were also affected by the system failure.