In a significant disruption for the UK financial sector, Google Cloud announced on Tuesday that its services were fully restored following an hours-long outage that affected numerous banks and public services. The incident, which began early Tuesday in Google’s europe-west2 cloud region based in London, was attributed to a “power event” at a third-party facility.
Among the services impacted were major financial institutions such as Revolut, Lloyds Bank, and HSBC, alongside public services like Royal Mail and NHS England. Users reported difficulties with card payments, ATM withdrawals, and online banking, highlighting the vulnerabilities that come with heavy reliance on cloud infrastructure.
According to reports, Google’s status page indicated “elevated errors and intermittent network failures” throughout the region, which led to widespread frustrations among customers. Revolut, in particular, faced significant backlash as users logged over 1,500 reports of service issues shortly after 8 a.m. BST. The company reassured its customers that their money and data remained safe throughout the disruption.
In a public statement, Revolut confirmed that services had been restored and thanked its users for their patience during the incident. “Due to a recent Google Cloud outage, customers may have experienced temporary service disruption on the Revolut app today. The issue has now been fixed, and all our customers’ money and data is safe,” the company tweeted.
Lloyds Banking Group also reported that their online banking services were affected, but assured customers that the root issues had been resolved and normal service would resume shortly. Similarly, HSBC acknowledged that some customers faced difficulties accessing their services, while Royal Mail confirmed that deliveries were not impacted.
The outage raised alarms about the UK’s reliance on cloud services, particularly after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) placed Google Cloud, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Oracle under direct regulatory oversight as critical suppliers to the financial sector back in July. This incident echoes a previous outage in 2025 that affected over 1,000 websites, including those of major banks.
As the financial landscape increasingly shifts towards digital solutions, experts are calling for more robust contingency plans to mitigate the risks associated with cloud service outages. Professor Feng Li from Bayes Business School stated that the exact cause of the power issue remains unclear, but the implications for businesses and customers are significant.
The FCA is currently engaging with Google and the affected firms to assess the impact of the outage. Google has committed to publishing an analysis of the incident on its service health dashboard, aiming to provide clarity on the underlying causes and to prevent future occurrences.
As we navigate an era where digital transactions are becoming the norm, this incident serves as a reminder of the fragility of technology and the importance of reliable service providers in maintaining the integrity of the financial system.
