CAF Bank online banking outage hits charities after security concern
CAF Bank has suspended online access for 14,000 charity customers while it fixes a third-party software vulnerability.
By Dominic Okoye · Staff Writer
· 3 min read
CAF Bank online banking outage has cut digital account access for its 14,000 charity customers while the Charities Aid Foundation-owned bank repairs a security flaw tied to third-party software. The disruption matters beyond a routine service failure because some charities have been unable to access accounts needed for time-sensitive operations, including payroll.
Customer communications seen by The Register say CAF Bank's online services have been unavailable since July 24 and will stay offline until further notice. The bank said it took the service down after receiving reports of suspicious activity on some customer accounts.
CAF Bank told customers it identified the issue early and contacted those affected by attempted fraud. After an investigation, it found a vulnerability that had not previously been detected in the way third-party software connects with its online banking portal. The bank said it is working with its technology partner to resolve the problem.
Why is CAF Bank online banking unavailable?
CAF Bank says it has suspended online banking because of a vulnerability involving third-party software linked to its portal. The bank has said its core banking services are not affected and that customer funds remain safe, but it is changing the online service before restoring access.
Chief executive Alison Taylor said in a statement that customers had been told the online banking service would be unavailable until further notice. She apologized for the disruption and said the bank understood the frustration caused to customers.
Taylor said CAF Bank is using external experts to fix the issue with the third-party software connected to the online banking portal. She added that the bank would not restore online access until it was confident the issue had been resolved safely.
The bank said it is still handling customer support by phone and is giving priority to payments that are time-sensitive, including payroll. Taylor declined to comment on whether customers would be compensated.
What this means for charity customers
For charities, an online banking outage can quickly become an operating problem rather than a back-office inconvenience. Payroll, supplier payments and cash-flow management often depend on portal access, and CAF Bank's customer base is concentrated in organizations that may not have large finance teams or alternative banking arrangements.
The incident also puts renewed attention on CAF Bank's technology operations. Last year, customers criticized the bank after a new banking platform left some unable to log in or make transactions. CAF Bank later apologized to customers who had problems with the service.
At the time, a CAF Bank spokesperson said the bank was focused on helping customers through the platform transition and supporting use of the new online banking service. The spokesperson said most customers were online and that thousands of payments were being sent and received each day, while acknowledging disruption and long call waits for some users.
CAF Bank has not disclosed how much it spent on the platform. At the end of its 2024/25 financial year, it held £1.45 billion, or $1.93 billion, in customer deposits.
The bank has not given a date for restoring online banking. Until it does, customers are dependent on phone support for urgent banking needs, with the bank saying payroll and other time-critical payments are being prioritized.
This story draws on original reporting from The Register.
