BNF customers still face banking woes, a month after first IT issues

Customers of BNF say they continue to face problems with their accounts, a month after a technical upgrade caused chaos.

Frustrated BNF customers said last month they were facing issues accessing their funds and online account data following a rocky attempt to upgrade the bank’s IT systems. 

At the time, a spokesperson for the company said that “at no point” had customers lost access to funds, and the bank was not aware of any “reportable data issues” at the time.

A month on, however, and those same customers say they still face problems. 

Dijana Kirov, who, four weeks ago, complained she had been awaiting a new card since the end of March, said she was still without it despite contacting the bank by e-mail and in person.

Also, when she tried to close her account, she was told she would need to wait for the new card – issued due to BNF changing from Visa to Mastercard – to arrive first. 

Admitting she was “frustrated” by the situation, Kirov said it took her three days to transfer money to her Revolut account, noting that, despite the money being taken out of her account, the transfer had not shown on either platform during those three days.

‘Still a mess’

Revisiting previous complaints about the bank’s mobile app, Kirov said it was “still a mess and laggy [exhibiting delayed responses]”, with transaction history “not showing at all – no statements, nothing is available”.

In seeming hopelessness at the situation, she said: “The story will never be over.”

A spokesperson for BNF said: “We sincerely regret that some of our customers continue to experience difficulties with their banking services.

“We fully understand how frustrating and disruptive these issues can be, and we apologise for the ongoing inconvenience.”

The spokesperson said the bank “remains fully committed to resolving such challenges”, and that staff members were “continuing to work around the clock to stabilise services and address all outstanding matters”.

She added it was “actively escalating with our project partners” and was in “ongoing contact with impacted customers to provide support wherever possible”.

In a statement to customers yesterday, bank CEO David Power said that although the company had invested “thousands of hours into planning, testing and preparation” before the upgrade, “the reality of such a major and unprecedented transition presented challenges across different areas”.

Apologising, he said the bank had “temporarily failed” to meet customer needs.

‘Indescribable stress’

Other customers Times of Malta spoke to in April said they too were continuing to face issues, with one describing their transaction history as “misleading; it won’t always say where the money came from or where it’s going”.

The customer, who asked not to be named, noted that even her regular salary payment had not shown the details of her company.

Another customer said she too was awaiting a replacement card, explaining that, when she queried the delay with the bank, she was told that an internal issue had led to the card not being ordered.

And an error in her transaction history led to one significant payment appearing to have been taken out of her account twice. The bank later assured her only one payment had been made, however. 

“The situation is unacceptable and even bank staff seem embarrassed by the whole mess... The stress this has caused is indescribable,” she said, adding she was forced to go to a branch in person to withdraw cash.

She said that, although she had activated her card – yet to arrive – online, she was unable to buy anything online or top up her Revolut account. 

The customer’s daughter said she was “basically acting as her bank now”, with her mother transferring her money to be withdrawn on her behalf while away from a branch. 

“It’s an absolute disaster,” the daughter said.

‘Appalling’

BNF customers continued to vent their frustration on Facebook. 

One user said he had not received a new card despite waiting two months and complained the bank was “not answering the phone”, adding: “What customer relations do you have?”

In comments underneath a post on the company’s Facebook page, one user told the bank last week to either “fix your new disgrace system or I’m gonna shift to another bank”.

Another said: “One month and the glitch is still there. SHAME.”

Others called the situation “a disgrace”, “appalling” and requiring “urgent attention”.

One described the company as a “third class bank” and indicated he would close his account. 

“Banking should not be this stressful. Please address these systemic issues immediately. Customers deserve reliable service ‒ not constant frustration and uncertainty,” said one disgruntled customer. 

A customer decided to interject with a darkly comic comment, simply saying the situation was “getting epic”.