'Please log in later': DBS digibank, PayLah app services disrupted

SINGAPORE — Users of DBS' digital services were unable to log in on Wednesday (March 29) morning after access was disrupted, with the bank later saying that access is intermittent.

The bank said on Facebook at 9.20am that access to its digibank online and mobile services, as well as its PayLah app, was unavailable.

At 12.49pm, it added that access to these services as well as investment platform DBS Vickers mTrading is intermittent and customers may experience some slowness when logging in.

It said: "Please be assured that your deposits and monies are safe and secure."

Earlier, the bank assured customers that its systems remain secure and uncompromised.

It added that they can continue to use their DBS/POSB cards for transactions.

On website Downdetector which tracks outages, complaints began cropping up from 7am, with a peak of more than 360 reports at about 8.30am.

Other unhappy customers took to DBS' Facebook page to report issues including being unable to retrieve one-time passwords and receiving prompts to reset their personal identification number (PIN).

Mr Su Yuanchang said he tried up to seven times from 8am to use the mobile banking app to pay his bills but, to his mounting frustration, his attempts were unsuccessful.

The engineer, who is in his 50s, added: "It kept asking me to reset my PIN when I wanted to change my transaction limits but I didn't receive any PIN. Eventually, I couldn't log in at all."

Facebook user Mawar Elin Mamat said she was unable to pay her hospital bills because of the outage.

On March 24, DBS PayLah app users faced delays in receiving their cashback when they made payments in hopes of claiming a $3 meal subsidy offered by the bank.

The delays were caused by a high volume of log-ins, the bank said then.

In November 2021, a malfunctioning access control server disrupted services for DBS Bank and POSB users over three days, resulting in the bank's worst digital disruption in a decade.

The Straits Times has contacted DBS for more information.

This is a developing story.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.