A Google Cloud outage in London has disrupted multiple banking apps and online services, leaving users unable to access their funds. The disruption, which began on Tuesday, appears to have knocked out services for financial platforms including Revolut, Halifax, and Emma.
According to an update on Google Cloud's status dashboard, the company is experiencing service issues in its europe-west2 region based in London. A Google spokesperson stated the company was investigating the issue, while the dashboard noted that a "power event" caused the disruption but has since been "mitigated."
Banking apps hit by downtime
Users of the affected banking apps took to social media to report that they cannot log in, transfer money, or make card payments. One person shared on X that their card was declined at an airport and they were unable to reach support, while another reported having to cancel appointments in Japan.
Revolut issued a statement confirming that all customer money and data remain safe. "We've been working to fix the issue since it was identified this morning and apologize to anyone affected and for any inconvenience caused," the company said. A person familiar with the matter attributed Revolut's downtime directly to Google Cloud.
Halifax posted on X that it is aware customers are facing issues with its app and online services, adding that it is working hard to fix them. The UK budgeting app Emma also confirmed its services were affected.
Emma is currently down due to a Google Cloud outage affecting services in London since 7 a.m. This is a technical outage, not a security issue.
Emma
Impact beyond the financial sector
The outage has extended to non-finance companies as well, according to the tracking site Downdetector. The delivery service DPD said in a post that its website is affected. Meanwhile, web-hosting platform SiteGround stated on X that the outage hit its UK data center and that its engineers are working with Google Cloud to address the problem.
The UK's courts and tribunal service also reported issues with its cloud-based video tools for remote hearings, noting it is working with technology partners to restore service.
Cloud reliability in focus
Google noted some "recovery of services" by around 8 a.m. ET and "tentatively" expected a full recovery by 9 a.m. ET, according to its dashboard.
The disruption highlights the critical role of cloud infrastructure as Google competes with Amazon and Microsoft for enterprise, startup, and government contracts amid the AI boom. Reliability remains a major promise in these deals, as downtime carries costly consequences for customers. However, Google is not the only provider facing these challenges, as Amazon, Microsoft, and others have also suffered downtime this year.
This article was written by AI from reporting by businessinsider.com.
