A massive technology break-down with Bank of Ireland’s systems has allowed customers who have no money in their accounts to get access to funds.
This has prompted huge queues at ATMs around this country tonight, with people mistakenly believing they were getting access to free cash.
In some towns the queues are so big gardaí have had to control them.
The blunder is a massive embarrassment for the bank.
The fault with the online app allows people who have no money in their account to transfer up to €500 into a Revolut account.
Some people claimed they were able to get access to €1,000, but the bank insisted the daily withdrawal limit is €500.
Once people use their Bank of Ireland app to transfer the funds to Revolut they can then withdraw the cash from the Revoult account through any ATM.
Huge queues at ATMs in Dublin, Limerick, Dundalk and other parts of the country were reported this evening as people took advantage of the screw-up to withdraw cash from their Revolut accounts.
There were reports in Dundalk of gardaí having to control crowds at ATMs in the town.
The frenzied withdrawal of cash was despite warnings on social media that there is no such thing as free cash and the money will have to be repaid.
The glitch comes after a day of IT problems for the bank, that reported half-year profits of more than €1bn last month.
Bank of Ireland insisted that any money taken from accounts where there are no funds will show up as a debit, and essentially be treated as an unauthorised overdraft.
The bank was struggling to work out what exactly has gone wrong.
In June there was another IT outage at Bank of Ireland but it did not result in people getting access to funds they did not have in their accounts.
It is understood a probe will now be conducted into the latest IT blunder, with the Central Bank expected to be involved.
The bank said: “We are working on a technical issue that is impacting a number of our services including our mobile app and 365Online.
“We are working to fix this as quickly as possible and apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused.
“We would like to remind customers that if they transfer or withdraw funds – including over their normal limits – this money will be debited from their account. While we are conscious customers may not be able to check their balance at this time, they should not withdraw or transfer funds if they are likely to become overdrawn.”
It was the second time the bank issued a statement. In the afternoon it apologised after it was hit with unexpected disruption to its mobile app and online services.
Customers are currently unable to access the bank’s mobile app and Banking 365 online services.
The issue, which emerged this afternoon, has prompted a statement from Bank of Ireland on Twitter.
The bank said it is working to fix the issue as quickly as possible and has apologised for any inconvenience caused.
Bank of Ireland said it will update customers once service is restored.