BOV non-committal on reasons behind network outage

BOV, Malta’s largest bank, suffered a major outage in its internet and mobile banking services on Monday and Tuesday, leading many to turn to social media to complain of the long duration of the failure and its inconvenient timing.

Tuesday was the last day of the month, and for many, it was payday. Home loan repayments are often scheduled to be paid shortly after salaries are received, leaving people wondering whether they had enough money to cover the payment should their wage arrive late, and if not, if the bank would still be charging them a fee for not having enough funds to cover the standing order.

The issue, which started on Monday evening, was acknowledged by BOV at 2.30pm on Tuesday, and declared solved by 6.30pm.

Speaking to BusinessNow.mt, a BOV spokesperson confirmed the “technical issues” and apologised for any inconvenience caused.

Asked on the nature of the fault, how it happened, and what steps would be taken to prevent similar incidents, the spokesperson declined to provide any further information, saying only that: “With the widespread use of technology, such system issues may occur from time to time. In this case, the technical issues we have been experiencing with our internet and mobile banking have been intermittent.”

They added that BOV is “always monitoring and evaluating ways of dealing with and quickly resolving such technical issues should they occur”.

BusinessNow.mt also asked whether the bank would consider waiving any fees charged to those customers whose standing orders could not be fulfilled due to the error, but no reply was received by the time of publication.

The issue is the latest in a long line of headaches for BOV, coming shortly after the controversial €182 million settlement regarding the Deiulemar saga, rising frustration at a perceived lack of physical and telephone service, and attacks from corporate lobbies dissatisfied with Malta's banking services.