Charities remain locked out of CAF Bank online accounts

CAF Bank is still unable to restore online banking access for its 14,000 UK charity customers, a week after initially suspending the service. In a recent statement, the bank disclosed that it has not yet identified a safe timeline for reinstating the feature, citing an unknown vulnerability in the connection between its systems and third-party software as the cause of the ongoing disruption.

Attempts at fraud detection and resolution have resulted in no timetable being set for the restoration of online banking services. CAF Bank CEO Alison Taylor expressed regret over the inconvenience, emphasizing that the core bank remains unaffected. However, charities have been left to grapple with the consequences, such as delayed payroll payments and supplier issues.

Kevan Hodges, CEO of Down's syndrome charity 21 Together, described the situation as "appalling," stressing the anxiety over unpaid wages and financial stress for staff. Bali Rodgers, CEO of Safer Communities Alliance, warned that the loss of trust in CAF Bank could be severe among the grassroots organizations it serves. The bank, which held £1.45 billion in customer deposits at the end of the 2024/25 financial year, suffered a similar outage last year when a new banking platform failed to allow customers to log in or process transactions. Despite earlier apologies, the bank has not disclosed the cost of the faulty system.