SINGAPORE — DBS Bank’s online banking and payment services were down on Saturday (Oct 14), with error messages shown on automated teller machines (ATMs) at several locations.
DBS bank said the service disruption was caused by an issue at a data centre which is also used by various other organisations.
“We are doing our utmost to swing over to our backup data centre, and expect to progressively restore services from 7pm today,” DBS said in a Facebook update at about 6.10pm.
In response to CNA’s queries, data centre operator Equinix — which partners with DBS — said it is aware of a “technical issue” at one of its data centres that impacted some customers’ operations.
“The technical issue has since been resolved and we are in contact with those impacted customers and expressed our sincere apologies,” the company said, adding that it is conducting an investigation into the incident.
The outage started at about 3pm on Saturday, with Downdetector, an online platform that provides users with real-time information about the status of various websites and services, showing a spike in reports about DBS and Citibank.
DBS apologised in a Facebook post at about 4.40pm, saying it has reopened all branches — except the ones in Tampines Central, Tampines One and White Sands — while it works to address the issue.
“We seek your patience as we recover our services. Please be assured that our systems are uncompromised, and your (money) and deposits remain safe,” added DBS, Singapore’s largest bank.
Citibank told CNA that it experienced a “temporary outage” in its banking services and has started progressively restoring services.
“We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused,” it added.
A Monetary Authority of Singapore spokesman said that it was informed by DBS and Citibank on Saturday that their customers were experiencing difficulties accessing their banking or payment services.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that the service disruptions were caused by an issue at a common data centre that is used by the banks. MAS has been following up closely with the banks, as they work towards a full resumption of their services, and provide timely communications and support to affected customers,” said the spokesman.