27 October 2023 , 12:01
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NatWest has issued a warning to its mobile banking customers ahead of the weekend.
The high street bank shared a noticed on its app informing account holders that a major update would be taking place on Sunday, October 29. Customers shouldn't be too worried though, as the upgrade will be taking place from 1:30am and 5am - so you most likely will be asleep when the update happens.
If you are awake, you will not be able to use the NatWest app whilst the upgrade is taking place. This means if you want to check you current or savings account or make bank transfers through the mobile app on the early hours of Sunday morning - you wont be able to.
However, don't worry if you urgently need to check your bank account or make a payment transfer between 1:30am and 5am you will still be able to do it through your NatWest online account. If it is not urgent, you will be able to use the app from 5:01am onwards.
The NatWest message read: “On Sunday 19th October between 01:00 BST to 05:00 AM GMT, we’ll be upgrading this app. During this time, you will not be able to use mobile banking. Sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.”
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NatWest announced its latest results today and they were published at the same time as the independent report by law firm Travers Smith into the closure of former UKIP leader Nigel Farage's bank account.
Earlier this year, Nigel Farage's Coutts bank account - which is a prestigious private bank for the wealthy owned by NatWest - was closed without notice and he accused the bank of closing his account due to his political beliefs.
The independent report today said while the decision to cut off Farage as a client was "primarily commercial" and therefore lawful and in line with its policies, NatWest had failed to communicate the decision properly and then mishandled his complaint.
The uproar around the closure of the account led to NatWest's chief executive, Dame Alison Rose, resigning after admitting she had made a mistake in speaking about Nigel Farage's relationship with the bank. It also led to public debate over people being having their bank accounts closed due to their views.
In a statement released by the bank today, Sir Howard Davies, NatWest Group's chairman, said although the investigation confirmed the decision to close the account was lawful, "the findings set out clear shortcomings in how it was reached as well as failures in how we communicated with him and in relation to client confidentiality".
He said: "We apologise once again to Mr Farage for how he has been treated. His experience fell short of the standards that any customer should expect. Our job now is to make sure that does not happen again.
"The bank is committed to implementing all the recommendations made by Travers Smith and we are making substantive changes to our policies and procedures, in particular to ensure that the lawfully protected beliefs or opinions of customers do not play any role in our decision making."