Dumb it down
What's going down in Ulster Bank?
A lot of people seem to be a little annoyed with Ulster Bank at the moment, but why? What's going on in the bank?
So what’s going down in Ulster Bank? Why are people annoyed?
Well, the bank suffered an “IT meltdown” on Wednesday, which means some customers haven’t received any payments such as wages, social welfare payments and the state pension.
Basically, people are annoyed because they’ll have to go the weekend without any sponds for going out on the lash and whatnot. In some more severe cases, families on welfare may have to go the weekend without any food – which is pretty serious.
Wow… so who exactly is the IT meltdown going to affect?
Anyone who banks with Ulster Bank and anyone whose employer uses the bank for their weekly (or fortnightly, monthly, etc.) wage payments will be largely affected. It will see pensioners and anyone on welfare being hit the hardest. In total 100,000 customers aren’t going to be pleased.
So is it just Ulster Bank? Are any of the other banks experiencing the same problems?
None of the other main Irish banks have had the same problem, but NatWest and the Royal Bank of Scotland sadly share the same issues. The good thing is that not too many Irish people would have accounts with either NatWest or RBS so there won’t be as many of us affected.
What exactly happened?
Well an IT mistake left the three banks with a two-day delay in processing some wage cheques, direct debits, standing orders and welfare payments. According to the Irish Independent the bank thought they were only one day behind schedule, however, as it transpires, they weren’t.
The bank is currently doing its best to resolve the situation, but it doesn’t look like anyone will receive their payments until Monday.
So what’s being said about?
Well the angelic voiced politician that is Joan Burton isn’t a bit pleased. Squawking Speaking at a press conference earlier she said: "Given all of the grief that banks have caused to people in Ireland, I really think that the bank needs to address this particular situation with absolute urgency.
"They have to look at the situation of people over the weekend, particularly older people, who spend all their social welfare income.
"For some of the people at the top of the banks, €100 might not seem a lot but it is to a pensioner."
As for the bank, they’re über sorry. In a statement, they said: “We appreciate that this [IT failure] is having a significant impact on many of our customers and customers of other banks and we again apologise unreservedly for this.
“Over the weekend we will endeavour to clear the backlog of automated payments to ensure our customers’ balances are up-to-date and that we are operational on Monday morning. Customers who have incurred fees or charges as a result of this issue will be fully refunded in due course.”
So what will I do if I need to get some cash out for a few drinks with the lads this weekend?
You could always hustle some pool. But we wouldn't recommend it.
from reading your comments I am going to make a massive assumption and suggest you dont have a bank account with Ulster Bank, nor do you rely on them to process you wage transfer to your local bank. Please correct me if I am in error.
From communication I have received from my employer, Ulster Bank cannot electronically process payments in or out of Ulster Banks accounts. The paper or manual processes have long been made redundant due to implmentation by most banks on a resilient electronic alternative using computer based technology (or so we were led to believe).
Can you add provenance to what appear to be tabloid like generalised comments on how people will be affected or are they just anecdotal?
As you consider this please bear in mind that our society relies heavily on Banking ICT technology,
failure of such technology impacts the very people who are heavily reliant on it.
Anyone who has a bank account with Ulster Bank (which has presence in the Island of Ireland), has been and will be affected.
Anyone who works for a company that uses Ulster Bank to process payments or payroll or its affiliate companies in the UK has been and will be affected.
There is plenty of speculation going around the media, very little of it appears to be fact.
Ultimately only the site or source of the problem will know exactly happened, and we will only hear what the Bank wants us to hear in a controlled statement.
Ulster Bank have been tardy to produce an informed statement of assurance to the public and wallowed in uncertainty, leaving such speculation to grow legs and fester. The result is the obvious PR disaster which can only serve to add insult to the injury of loss of service to their "customers".
So, Oisin I guess the question is would your comments have the same demeanour if this disaster happened to your own bank?
Or do you keep your money in a shoe box under your bed? If this is the case I may actually join you!
Dumbing it down, in my opinion, will only allow the usual approach of burying our heads in the sand once again, until the problem goes away and is forgotten.
Maybe I need to hone my pool skills, that will allow me to get out this weekend.