CAF Bank is still without online banking a week after suspending the service over attempted fraud on some accounts. The outage has left 14,000 UK charity customers unable to use the online service, and Alison Taylor said the bank cannot restore access until it is safe to do so.
She said, “The core bank is not affected. We are acutely aware of the impact this has on our customers and want this to be fixed as soon as possible, but we cannot restore access to the online service until we are assured the issue is safely resolved,” Taylor said.
CAF Bank and 14,000 customers
The shutdown has already disrupted payments to staff and suppliers. CAF Bank said its investigation found a previously unknown vulnerability in the connection between its systems and third-party software, and its technical team was working around the clock with suppliers and external experts on a fix.
That leaves charities with a split picture: the core bank remains open, but the online route they use for routine payments is still unavailable. For groups that move money through the online service, the practical problem is not the account itself but getting transactions out the door on time.
Kevan Hodges on payroll pressure
Kevan Hodges, chief executive of Down's syndrome charity 21 Together, called the outage “appalling.” He said, “People are concerned that wages won't get paid because of this, and that's just stressful when they have bills to pay. My team have wasted days trying to get through to [CAF Bank], but all in vain,”
His account shows how the disruption is landing inside smaller charities first: staff time is being spent chasing access, while payment deadlines keep moving closer. The service problem is not just technical for those organizations; it is already affecting day-to-day finance work.
CAF Bank and online access
CAF Bank said it still had no timetable for restoring online access a week after the suspension began. The bank also drew attention last year after a new banking platform left customers unable to log in or make transactions, adding to the pressure on a service that holds £1.45 billion in customer deposits at the end of its 2024/25 financial year.
For now, affected charities need to plan around the core bank being available while the online service remains closed. Until the bank restores access, routine payments may still depend on whatever manual processes each charity can manage outside the online system.
