Customers of First National Bank (FNB) in South Africa experienced difficulties authenticating card payments on Friday, as the bank’s app faced widespread outages. The disruption, which began around mid-morning, prevented many shoppers from completing transactions during one of the busiest retail days of the year.

FNB’s card-authentication requests either timed out or returned error messages indicating that the issue was under investigation. Both online and in-store payments requiring app-based approval were affected, while users attempting to log in to the app faced intermittent server errors and repeated session failures.

According to Downdetector, reports of issues spiked around 9:30 AM, highlighting the widespread impact of the outage.

Customers Turn to Alternative Payment Methods

As the app remained unreliable, many FNB customers sought alternative ways to complete payments. Common solutions included:

• One-time PIN (OTP) fallback system: Automatically triggered when the app failed, allowing customers to complete purchases.
• Physical card machines and contactless payments: Useful for lower-value transactions without app verification.
• Using different cards or mobile wallets: Prevented disruptions for urgent payments.

Retailers also advised customers not to repeat failed transactions, as duplicate pending requests sometimes appeared. Some shoppers were able to approve queued transactions briefly before the app timed out again.

Impact on Retailers and Online Orders

The outage caused delays and confusion at checkout points, particularly for online orders that required immediate approval. Many customers abandoned carts when authentication stalled, prompting retailers to guide users on functional payment methods.

While the OTP system provided a reliable workaround, it added extra steps to the payment process. FNB had not issued a formal update during the disruption, leaving customers to rely on peer advice and trial-and-error to complete transactions.

Lessons From the Outage

The FNB app outage highlights South Africans’ reliance on app-based authentication for daily payments. It also demonstrated how quickly users can adapt, switching to alternative payment methods when digital systems fail. As Black Friday traffic surged, the incident underscored the importance of reliable digital banking infrastructure, especially during peak shopping periods.