Quick Read
- Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) online banking services experienced widespread disruptions on January 28, 2026.
- Hundreds of customers reported issues with transactions, mobile app access, and money withdrawals.
- Over 3,200 complaints were registered on DownDetector, with reports spiking around 2:59 PM AEDT.
- Social media platforms were flooded with customer complaints regarding the outage.
- This incident marks the second major outage for CBA within a few months, following a similar disruption in October 2025.
SYDNEY (Azat TV) – Hundreds of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) customers across the nation experienced significant disruptions to their online banking services on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, marking another major outage for one of the country’s largest financial institutions and raising concerns about the reliability of critical digital infrastructure.
The widespread issues, which affected transactions, mobile app access, and money withdrawals, prompted a surge of complaints on social media platforms and independent tracking sites. This incident follows a similar, prolonged outage experienced by the bank just a few months prior, in October 2025.
Services Grind to a Halt for Thousands
Reports of the disruption began to escalate sharply around 2:59 PM AEDT on January 28, 2026, according to real-time data from the outage tracking platform DownDetector. By the time many media outlets began covering the story, the platform had registered over 3,200 complaints, indicating a substantial impact on CBA’s customer base. Users reported being unable to log into their NetBank accounts, access the CommBank app, or complete essential financial transactions, including payments and ATM withdrawals.
The sudden inability to access funds or manage accounts left many customers frustrated and inconvenienced, particularly those relying on digital banking for day-to-day financial operations. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, often referred to as CommBank, provides a comprehensive suite of financial services to millions of individuals and businesses. These services include standard bank and savings accounts, credit cards, various loan products, and online platforms like NetBank for consumers and CommBiz for business clients, alongside CommSec for online securities trading.
Customer Frustration Mounts on Social Media
As the outage persisted, social media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter), became a primary outlet for customer complaints and expressions of exasperation. Users flooded the platform with messages directed at @CommBank, highlighting the severity and inconvenience of the situation. One user lamented, “commbank you will be the end of me,” reflecting the critical nature of banking services in daily life. Another user expressed disbelief, stating, “@CommBank the app is down AGAIN, seriously?” The sentiment was echoed by many who described the issues as ‘painful’ and confirmed they were ‘unfortunately’ also experiencing the same trouble.
The immediate and public nature of these reactions underscores the high expectations customers now have for uninterrupted digital access to their financial institutions. For a bank as ubiquitous as Commonwealth Bank, any disruption can have far-reaching effects, impacting personal finances, small business operations, and the broader economy.
A Recurring Challenge for Major Banks
This latest incident is not an isolated event for the Commonwealth Bank. In October 2025, the bank faced a major outage that affected a wide array of its banking services, including payments, online access, and ATMs, for several hours. Australian media widely reported on that disruption, which was eventually resolved after significant effort. The recurrence of such issues within a short timeframe raises questions about the resilience and robustness of the bank’s underlying IT infrastructure and its capacity to handle potential technical glitches or system overloads.
While the exact cause of the January 28 outage was not immediately clear, these repeated disruptions highlight a broader challenge faced by major financial institutions globally: maintaining seamless digital operations in an increasingly complex and interconnected technological environment. The reliance on legacy systems, coupled with the constant need for updates and security enhancements, presents ongoing operational hurdles for banks striving to meet customer demands for 24/7 access.
The repeated service interruptions at a major financial institution like the Commonwealth Bank could erode customer trust and prompt a closer examination of the digital resilience of Australia’s banking sector. As consumers and businesses increasingly depend on online platforms for essential financial activities, the consistent availability of these services becomes paramount, pushing banks to invest more rigorously in preventing future system failures.