CAF Bank reopens online service but warns of further outages

CAF Bank has reinstated its online banking service following an over ten-day shutdown resulting from an alleged fraudulent attempt. In an email to customers, the bank cautioned that access might remain irregular and may require limiting website traffic at specific times. The bank admitted periods of unavailability, primarily occurring during off-business hours, to mitigate the issue.

The bank's investigation started on July 21, when they detected suspicious activity on a few accounts. Subsequently, they enlisted external specialists and momentarily halted the online service on July 22 and July 24 while they probed the matter. Further malicious activity was identified on Saturday, July 25, aimed at disabling a small number of individual logins.

The bank swiftly responded and disabled online service access again. The bank's core operations remained unaffected, ensuring the safety of customers' funds. CAF Bank, a charity-owned financial institution, faced criticism last year over its prolonged transition to a new platform based on Temenos Transact. Charities complained about the new online banking platform being cumbersome and unreliable, fearing complications in paying staff and vendors.

Despite the recent disruption, CAF Bank has waived its monthly customer account charge for August and September 2026 as a gesture of goodwill. CAF Bank CEO Alison Taylor expressed appreciation for the inconvenience caused and apologized for the lengthy phone support delays. She also emphasized that the bank is committed to learning from the incident to benefit their partners and industry.