A local power loss and hardware failure at Fidelity National Information Services appears to be at the root of a several-day service interruption that affected thousands of Capital One customers who were unable to access their direct-deposited paychecks, see their account balances or log in online.
Jacksonville, Florida-based FIS, in a statement Monday, confirmed the “system outage,” which began Wednesday, adding that it was not the result of any cyber incident. It also noted that affected clients “are back to processing business as usual.”
Capital One and Tulsa-based Bank of Oklahoma were among more than two dozen banks affected by the outage, CBS News reported.
“Our digital platforms are back online, and balances should be displayed correctly,” the bank wrote Friday in a statement on its website. “We will refund fees incorrectly assessed on accounts impacted by the outage.”
The outage comes at a tenuous time for McLean, Virginia-based Capital One, which is trying to present itself to regulators as a worthy acquirer of the credit-card network Discover. The bank’s shareholders are set to meet next month to vote on the acquisition, which has received a green light from Delaware’s financial regulator. The companies have said they expect the transaction will close by March.
In another potential blow, though, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last week sued Capital One, alleging the bank “cheat[ed] millions of consumers out of more than $2 billion in interest” by failing to tell them of a higher-yielding savings account product.
Of the banks affected, Capital One took the brunt of online complaints. “What’s in your wallet?” one user posted on X, formerly Twitter, in a play on the company’s slogan. “Nothing if you bank with Capital One.”
Some customers were less cheeky. “My money hasn’t come through since Wednesday!” another user wrote. “I have to pay my [expletive] mortgage! I have to pay for gasoline! I have to feed my children! I called and was hung up on after inputting all my information! Something is very wrong!”
Capital One posted Sunday that “account functionality for all customers is now restored.”
“We sincerely apologize for how frustrating this experience has been,” the bank added. “We are committed to making it right. We encourage customers to check their accounts online and contact us for any support.”
Nearly 4,000 Capital One customers had reported issues to the website Downdetector between 9 a.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. Friday. That number fluctuated Friday but rose to around 4,000 again by afternoon.
"We are working around the clock with our service provider to resolve this issue,” Capital One wrote in response to one X user Friday. “Systems are gradually updating and when systems are restored, you will be able to see your expected transactions online."
The bank at the time characterized the issue as “temporary,” but customers fired back that they had been waiting three days.
Capital One is not the only top U.S. bank to have experienced service disruptions last week. Hundreds of Citi users also reported issues to Downdetector.
Several Capital One customers, during the outage, appealed to the bank over basic needs.
"It'd be nice to get paid. I'm hungry," one user posted on X. “I was supposed to get paid yesterday, and it's still not here," another user wrote. "Guess I'll be eating ramen again tonight."
Others pointed to Capital One’s lack of a time frame to settle the issues.
"This is now Day 3, and my paycheck is still not deposited or showing as pending in my account,” one person said Friday. “I would appreciate an update on the ETA for a resolution."
