Major Internet Outage Hits UK Banks, Including Lloyds and Halifax

A massive internet service outage hit Amazon Web Services, affecting apps like Snapchat, Zoom, and Duolingo. Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland were also impacted, with customers reporting issues accessing mobile banking services. The outage was caused by a problem with Amazon Web Services. To combat such outages, it's recommended to have a second bank account with access to online banking.

A significant internet service outage has affected Amazon Web Services (AWS), leading to widespread disruptions across various platforms and services. The outage, which began on September 12, 2025, has impacted numerous applications, including social media sites, video games, education apps, and financial services. Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland were among the financial institutions reporting issues with mobile banking services, according to a CorkBeo report.

The outage was caused by a problem with AWS, a comprehensive cloud computing platform used by millions of companies. As the CorkBeo article described, users have reported various issues, including Snapchat displaying a "service unavailable" message with a C14A error code, Roblox games showing as unavailable, and Ring doorbell users unable to log into the app. Other affected services include Zoom, Duolingo, Canva, and Amazon Prime Video, with users experiencing difficulties starting conferences, loading thumbnails, and streaming videos.

AWS confirmed the issue, stating that it was experiencing "increased error rates and latencies for multiple AWS services in the US-EAST-1 Region" and later identified a potential root cause related to DNS resolution of the DynamoDB API endpoint in the US-EAST-1 Region, according to a Tom's Hardware report. The outage has caused a cascade of issues, with users unable to access a wide range of services, including Snapchat, Roblox, Amazon, Alexa, Ring, Robinhood, Max (HBO), Chime, Venmo, Epic Games, McDonald's, Fortnite, Lyft, Hulu, Disney+, Roku, Signal, and carriers such as AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, as detailed by Tom's Hardware.

The impact on financial services highlights the importance of having a robust infrastructure to prevent such disruptions. To mitigate the effects of such outages, financial professionals are advised to maintain a second bank account with access to online banking services. This ensures that customers can still access their funds and perform transactions even if one service is unavailable, a point noted in the CorkBeo coverage.

AWS has been working to resolve the issue and has provided updates on its service status website. The company has stated that it is actively engaged in mitigating the issue and understanding the root cause, with engineers immediately engaged in addressing the problem, as reported by CorkBeo. As the outage continues to impact various services, it is crucial for users and financial institutions to stay informed and prepared for potential disruptions.