Fault pulls plug on customers

By PETER GRIFFIN

National Bank customers were left in financial limbo early on Sunday morning when an electrical fault knocked out cash machines throughout the North Island and severed access to internet banking services.

The problem began at 4 am when an electrical contractor installed a circuit incorrectly at the bank's communications centre in Mangere, damaging servers, routers and power supplies.

Despite frantic repairs, the network was not fully restored until 10.30 am that day.

Damage to the servers and repairs to the network are believed to have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It was the National Bank's second disruption to service in as many weeks.

The previous, one-hour, breakdown left customers unable to use cash machines and telephone and internet banking services.

The bank rejected speculation that it had been the victim of an attack by hackers, saying the integrity of its network had not been compromised.

Spokeswoman Cynthia Brophy confirmed that Sunday's breakdown occurred during scheduled work on the bank's network but would not say where or how the system had gone down.