Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is facing mounting criticism after two incidents this week left customers frustrated and concerned about the bank’s reliability.
On Tuesday afternoon, a major technical issue locked thousands of customers out of their accounts. More than 3,500 outage reports were logged on Down Detector around 3:30pm AEST. Users reported being unable to access the CommBank app or NetBank services.
CBA confirmed the disruption, which lasted for several hours, and reassured customers that it was not caused by a cyberattack. Services were fully restored by 6:30pm AEST. Other banking functions, including ATMs and tap-and-pay, remained unaffected.
“We are very sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for your patience,” the bank said in a statement. Despite the apology, many customers expressed frustration over the frequency of such outages.
In a separate incident, a long-term customer, Brooke, revealed that she and her partner were abruptly told their accounts would be closed by the end of May. They received no explanation—just a text message and a follow-up letter confirming the decision.
Initially thinking it was a scam, the couple called the bank, which verified the closure. Shortly after, Brooke’s partner’s accounts were frozen, leaving him unable to make basic purchases.
“They said, ‘It’s all real, you’ve got until the end of May to shut all accounts’… no reason why,” Brooke told 2GB radio. The couple say they are just a regular family with no suspicious activity.
They are now worried about the long-term impact on their credit score and financial reputation. “We’re a young family with two young kids,” Brooke said. “This could really affect us.”
CBA defended its decision, stating that it has the right to close accounts and that such decisions are made carefully. However, due to legal restrictions, it cannot always disclose the reasons behind account closures.
“Decisions to end relationships with customers are not taken lightly,” a CBA spokesperson said. “There are limitations on what can be shared due to regulatory and legal obligations.”
These two incidents have sparked widespread concern and renewed calls for better communication and transparency from one of Australia’s biggest banks.