Barclays could pay up to £12.5million in compensation to customers affected by technology outages over the past two years, according to a new letter to MPs.
The banking giant told the Treasury Committee it expects to pay between £5million and £7.5million for a major outage in January this year.
An additional £5million is earmarked for other incidents occurring between January 2023 and January 2025. The revelation comes as part of a wider investigation by the cross-party Treasury Committee into IT failures at major UK banks.
The committee has been examining incidents that prevent or limit customer access to banking services.
The January outage caused days of disruption for Barclays customers, coinciding with payday for many workers and the deadline for self-assessment tax returns.
During this incident, more than half of attempts to make online payments failed.
The glitch began at the end of January and lasted several days, leaving many customers unable to access their accounts or complete transactions.
Barclays confirmed the outage was caused by a software issue within a part of the bank’s UK mainframe operating system.
The bank emphasised it was not the result of a cyber attack.
Barclays has become the first lender to hike mortgage rates after inflation slowed less than expectedGETTYVim Maru, Barclays UK chief executive, said: “We acknowledge that through no fault of their own, some of our customers and clients may have suffered loss or distress and inconvenience.”
The bank’s total compensation could reach £12.5million when all outages over the past two years are considered. This includes the estimated £5-7.5million for January’s disruption plus approximately £5million for previous incidents.
The compensation is intended to address both financial losses and the inconvenience experienced by customers during these service interruptions.
Common reasons for IT failures across banks included problems with third-party suppliers, disruption caused by systems changes and internal software malfunctions.
Multiple banks have been impacted by global IT outages over the year
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The Treasury Committee’s investigation has revealed at least 158 IT failure incidents across nine banks and building societies between January 2023 and February 2025.
This figure does not include Barclays’ recent January outage or disruptions to other banks’ online services in recent weeks. The committee is investigating IT problems at all banks that prevent or limit customer access to banking.
The investigation has uncovered more than 33 days’ worth of unplanned tech and system outages across nine major UK banks and building societies in the last two years.
MP Dame Meg Hillier, chairwoman of the Treasury Committee, said: “The fact there has been enough outages to fill a whole month within the last two years shows customers’ frustrations are completely valid.
Customers affected by the Barclays outages are expected to be contacted directly about compensation
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“The reality is that this data shows even the most successful banks and building societies hit technical glitches. What’s critical is they react swiftly and ensure customers are kept informed throughout.”
Dame Hillier also praised banks that are properly compensating affected customers.
She said: “I am particularly thankful to those who are compensating their customers well for the stress they endure and would encourage all to reflect on whether they are doing enough in that regard.”
The committee’s investigation continues as it examines the resilience of banking technology systems across the UK.
Customers affected by the Barclays outages are expected to be contacted directly about compensation.
The January disruption highlighted the growing dependence on digital banking services and the significant impact when these systems fail.