Intesa Sanpaolo App Outage Causes Frustration for Users Across Italy

Italian banking customers experienced another digital disruption on Wednesday as the Intesa Sanpaolo App suffered a widespread outage. The glitch, which began early in the morning, prevented users from accessing their accounts or performing transactions.

While the bank confirmed that all pensions were credited to accounts as scheduled, the outage caused concern among users, particularly those expecting salary payments. Many took to social media to express their frustration, while online service monitoring platform Downdetector recorded over 7,000 reports of issues during the peak of the outage.

“Dear customer, we inform you that, due to a temporary slowdown, the visibility of some movements (for example mortgages and pension crediting) may not be available” and “Sorry, due to a technical problem, you cannot continue. Please try again later” – these were the messages many users encountered when attempting to open the app.

Calls for Explanation and Investigation

Consumer associations have demanded a detailed explanation from Intesa Sanpaolo regarding the cause of the outage. “We asked the top management of the credit institution to start a discussion table with consumer associations,” said Gabriele Melluso, president of Assoutenti. “The objective is to analyze what happened in terms of technical problems and to receive correct information on the IT tilt which could be attributable both to the huge traffic at the beginning of the month and to third parties who manage the IT platform for banking movements.”

Luigi Gabriel, president of Non-Profit Consumerism, echoed Melluso’s concerns, calling the outage a “serious disservice”.

Concerns Grow Over Recurring Tech Issues in Banking

This latest incident follows closely on the heels of another major digital disruption in Italy. Just last week, digital payment systems across the country went haywire, with the Worldline platform experiencing a nationwide outage. This coincided with the busy Black Friday shopping period, leading to significant financial losses for businesses and inconveniences for consumers.

“More generally, episodes such as that of Intesa are on the rise in a worrying way in Italy and involve an ever-increasing number of citizens,” noted Gabriel, referencing the increasing frequency of technology-related issues impacting financial services.

“In the Worldline case, damage to fiber cables, as part of work on gas pipes in Switzerland, knocked out the digital payment system in Italy for almost two days, via POS and cards and withdrawals cash. Various payment circuits are paying the price, from Nexi to ATMs as well as Mastercard and Visa,” Gabriel added, highlighting the widespread impact such incidents can have.

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What steps is the Italian Consumer Union⁤ taking in response to the Intesa Sanpaolo outage?

⁢ ## Intesa Sanpaolo Outage: Italy’s Banking Frustrations‌ Rise

**Host:** Welcome back to the show.​ Today we’re discussing the recent outage affecting the⁤ Intesa Sanpaolo app, leaving many Italian users frustrated and concerned. Joining us to discuss the‍ situation is Giulia Bianchi, a representative from the Italian Consumer Union. Giulia, thank you for being here.

**Giulia:** It’s a pleasure to be here. ​

**Host:** ⁢ Let’s delve right in. As we understand it,⁢ the outage began early Wednesday morning, preventing customers ‌from accessing accounts or performing transactions. Can you⁤ tell us more about what happened and the impact it’s had on Italians?

**Giulia:** ​It’s been a very trying day for many of our members and Italian bank customers in general. The outage was extensive and significantly impacted people’s ability to manage ⁢their finances. Reports flooded in about users being unable to access their accounts, view recent transactions, or even make basic ⁤payments. This caused considerable anxiety, especially for those expecting salary payments or needing to make urgent‌ purchases.

**Host:** Intesa Sanpaolo issued a statement mentioning a “temporary slowdown,”⁣ but many users felt this downplayed the severity of the situation. What are your thoughts on ​their⁤ response?

**Giulia:** We find the bank’s communication insufficient. While they⁣ acknowledged a slowdown, they haven’t provided a clear explanation for the outage’s cause or a concrete timeline for full restoration.‍ This lack of transparency adds to the frustration and creates mistrust among ⁣customers.

** Giulia (cont.):**⁣ We’ve also seen that online platforms like ​Downdetector recorded over 7,000 user reports of issues indicating a widespread problem ⁢ [[1](https://www.fanpage.it/innovazione/tecnologia/intesa-sanpaolo-down-oggi-ancora-problemi-con-lapp-della-banca-perche-non-funziona-e-cosa-sta-succedendo/)]. This goes beyond a minor “slowdown.”

**Host:** What steps is the Italian Consumer‍ Union taking in response to this outage?

**Giulia:** We’re actively demanding a thorough investigation into the cause of the outage and a detailed ⁤explanation from Intesa Sanpaolo. It’s crucial that they take full responsibility‌ for the inconvenience caused and ‍implement measures to prevent ⁤such disruptions from happening again. We’re also gathering testimonies from affected⁢ customers to ‌understand the full extent of the impact and explore possible legal avenues if necessary.