By vmg@gmail.com 
Two of Australia’s largest banks — Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and ANZ — experienced service outages on Wednesday, leaving customers frustrated as banking apps and payment systems were temporarily disrupted.
Thousands of users reported problems accessing services, checking balances, and making payments, prompting widespread complaints on social media platforms.
🔴 Commonwealth Bank App Outage: What Happened?
Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s largest lender, was first to be hit by the outage.
According to outage-tracking website Down Detector, reports spiked sharply as customers complained that the CommBank mobile app was not working.
Key Issues Reported:
• Inability to log into the app
• Failure to check account balances
• Payments and transfers not processing
• App freezing or crashing
A spokesperson confirmed to NewsWire that the bank experienced a brief outage, affecting some customers.
Customers were advised to log out and log back in to restore services.
🕓 Restoration Timeline
| Bank | Issue | Time Restored |
|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth Bank | App login & access issues | 4:45 PM (AEST) |
Despite services being restored, Commonwealth Bank has not yet disclosed the cause of the outage.
💬 Customer Frustration Grows Online
Many affected customers turned to X (formerly Twitter) and other social platforms to voice frustration.
Common complaints included:
• Being unable to make urgent payments
• Not knowing account balances
• No immediate communication from the bank
Several users questioned the reliability of digital banking during peak hours.
🟡 ANZ Confirms Payment Delays
ANZ was also impacted on the same day, confirming delays in processing payments, including:
• Salaries
• Pension payments
• Scheduled transfers
In a statement shared on social media, ANZ acknowledged the issue and apologised to customers.
“While the issue has been resolved, a small number of payments may require further checks in the coming days. We know this is frustrating, and we’re sorry for the inconvenience.”
ANZ said its teams are working to clear all remaining delayed payments as quickly as possible.
📊 Summary of Bank Outages
| Bank | Type of Issue | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth Bank | Mobile app outage | Login failures, payment access issues |
| ANZ | Payment processing delays | Salary & pension payment delays |
🏦 Growing Reliance on Digital Banking
The outages highlight Australia’s heavy dependence on digital banking platforms, where even short disruptions can significantly impact daily financial activities.
With millions relying on mobile apps for:
• Salary access
• Bill payments
• Daily transactions
Any disruption quickly draws attention and criticism.
❓ What Customers Should Do If Affected
If you were impacted:
• Log out and back into your banking app
• Check pending payments over the next few days
• Contact customer support if payments remain unprocessed
• Monitor official bank social media channels for updates