MFSA ‘assessing’ BNF after customer complaints over rocky IT upgrade
Customers say problems persist more than a week after upgrade
Updated 9.10am with BNF response
The financial regulator has said it is “assessing” BNF Bank after more than a week of customer complaints following a rocky IT upgrade.
Customer complaints began surfacing online last Wednesday as an attempt by the bank to upgrade its online and ATM systems over the preceding weekend dragged on into that week.
While the bank insisted it was working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, customers are continuing to report issues making payments, activating cards and accessing account data.
The bank said on Friday that, while a “card-related issue” had been rectified, “at no point” had customers lost access to funds and the bank was not aware of any “reportable data issues” at the time.
On Monday evening, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) told Times of Malta it was “actively engaging with BNF Bank in relation to the matter”.
A spokesperson for the regulator said it was “continuing to assess whether the bank’s actions have been in line with regulatory expectations”, adding that “should our ongoing supervisory engagement warrant further action, the authority will not hesitate to act”.
Actively engaging with BNF Bank in relation to the matter- MFSA
While the regulator said it would not comment on the specifics of ongoing supervisory matters, “consumer protection and financial stability remain central to our work”.
As of Tuesday, BNF customers Times of Malta had spoken to previously said they were continuing to face difficulties making online payments and accessing their accounts.
Meanwhile, comments underneath a post on the bank’s Facebook page that day suggested some customers were also struggling to access or retrieve information from their online accounts.
Bank says it is working around the clock to resolve the issue
In a statement Wednesday morning, the bank said that following "technical difficulties" during a major IT upgrade, it had remained in "ongoing communication" with the regulator to "support the swiftest and most effective resolution possible".
The bank said it had "allocated unprecedented resources, both technical and operational", to the issues faced by customers.
Calling the upgrade the "most significant investment in the bank's history," a spokesperson said staff were working "round the clock" and that the organisation was "well on course" to fix the remaining issues.
"We recognise that these technical issues... have negatively impacted some of our customers and apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank them for their understanding and bearing with us."