The Charities Aid Foundation Bank has apologised for disruption after some customers reported difficulties accessing its new online banking service.
The new service went live on Monday but some of the bank’s charity customers have had issues accessing their accounts, resulting in increased wait times for customer support, Third Sector understands.
Philip Linnegar, chief executive of the Hearing Advisory Service, told Third Sector that his charity’s finance manager was on hold for three hours yesterday and four more hours today, having been number 118 in the customer support queue.
“I’m surprised and disappointed,” Linnegar said, adding that the charity intended to complain to the bank.
Mark Flower, chief executive of Age UK South Gloucestershire, said on LinkedIn the charity had been unable to access its funds for more than a week, which was “becoming a joke”.
Alison Taylor, chief executive of CAF Bank, said: “We are very sorry for the disruption some customers have experienced this week following the launch of our new online banking service. Along with the rest of the team, I fully recognise how important it is that issues are resolved as quickly as possible.”
Taylor said that CAF Bank’s team had been making technical updates overnight and had “significantly increased” the number of colleagues available to answer calls and assist customers, although she “recognises that there have been delays”.
She added: “We appreciate our customers continuing to bear with us while we make sure everyone is online, and we are grateful to those who have confirmed that they are successfully using the new service.
“We are confident the new service will enable us to expand the services and support we provide to existing and future customers.”
CAF told Third Sector that some customers had been unable to find their login details since the update due to them being delivered to their junk folders.
The bank urged customers to consult its website, including its FAQs, videos and user guide to assist them with accessing the new service.