SINGAPORE — OCBC bank on Friday (Dec 4) released an update for its mobile banking application after disgruntled iPhone users experienced problems logging in for more than a day starting on Wednesday. Users of the bank’s Android app were not affected.

In a Facebook post, OCBC said that iPhone customers should update their mobile banking app to the latest version at the Apple app store and, if that does not resolve the issue, they should delete the app and reinstall it.

In response to queries from TODAY, a spokesperson from the bank said on Friday that some of its iPhone customers faced an “intermittent issue” with the app, as well as with internet banking.

“We have requested the impacted customers to update or reinstall the app. We apologise for the inconvenience caused.” 

Some OCBC customers affected by the disruption told TODAY that they were frustrated that they could not make necessary transactions over the app.

They initially thought their accounts may have been hacked but they noticed other customers were also facing the same issues after seeing their complaints on Facebook.

Mr Jimmy Koh, 51, said that he was confused by the steps he had to take to rectify the problem.

The retired business owner wanted to pay his bills and transfer some money when he encountered problems with the app on Wednesday.

In the end, he had to wait for his daughter to get home from work to help him resolve it.

Ms Shi Miaohua, 41, a homemaker, said that it took her about an hour to log into the app when she wanted to pay her credit card bills during lunch on Wednesday. When she called OCBC to ask what was the problem, she heard a recorded message saying the system was not working and to call back after 5am.

“The problem with these apps is when we over-rely on them. When they fail, we become crippled. What about those people who need to make urgent transactions?” she asked.

Mr Kevin Tan, 40, said that he was frustrated by the lack of communication from OCBC.

He tried to log in throughout Wednesday without success.

When he finally called the bank after work at night, he said that he was put on hold for 38 minutes. That was when he checked Facebook and saw an OCBC post informing users of the problem at 9.47pm on Wednesday.

“We understand problems do occur… But inform us so we can make alternative arrangements. It’s just a push of information through SMS or putting it on Facebook, but there was nothing,” Mr Tan, who works in the hospitality industry, said.

He was unable to perform transactions over the internet either because this required the use of OCBC’s digital token, which was accessible only through the mobile banking app.