Thousands of Monzo customers across the UK were left frustrated on Tuesday afternoon as the popular digital banking app suffered a significant outage.
Widespread Disruption Hits Monzo Users
The problems began shortly after 3pm on Tuesday, 13 January 2026, according to outage tracking service Down Detector, which reported issues spread nationwide. Users attempting to access the Monzo app were met with a message stating: ‘We’re experiencing issues, we’ll let you know when they’re resolved.’ A further notification warned that the ‘app will not be fully functional.’
One disgruntled user told Metro: ‘You can’t do anything other than see how much money is in your pots.’ Another reported on Down Detector: ‘Currently down, was able to transfer to and from pots but now that feature is down too.’
Backup System Activated for Core Services
In response to the crisis, Monzo confirmed it had ‘spotted some platform issues’ and immediately launched an investigation. A bank spokesperson announced they had instantly activated ‘Monzo Stand-in’ – described as a fully independent backup bank system.
This contingency measure ensured that during the outage, customers could still perform several essential banking functions:
- Make payments with their card
- Withdraw cash from ATMs
- Check their account balance and recent transactions
- Freeze their card if needed
- Send and receive bank transfers
- View account details
- Contact the Monzo support team
The spokesperson added: ‘We are working on resolving this as soon as possible.’
Ongoing Reliance on Digital Banking
This incident highlights the vulnerability and reliance millions of Britons now have on app-based banking services. Unlike traditional banks with physical branches, digital-only operators like Monzo are entirely dependent on their technological infrastructure being operational.
The swift activation of the Monzo Stand-in system prevented a total collapse of services, allowing for basic financial activities to continue. However, the disruption to the full app functionality serves as a stark reminder of the potential pitfalls in the rapidly growing fintech sector.
Engineers continue to work on a permanent fix for the platform issues. Customers are advised to check Monzo's official status page for the latest updates.
