OCBC banking services fails again after new Head of Operations & Technology takes over

OCBC banking services went down again on Monday (28 Aug) morning at about 8.30 am due to “network issues”.

The bank acknowledged that it was facing “technical problems with our systems impacting our banking channels”, which include mobile and online banking, PayNow, ATMs, Velocity and cards.

“We are experiencing network issues at the moment. All of our banking services are down,” said OCBC. “We are sorry for the inconvenience and are working to bring things back to normal.”

Some customers posted on social media saying that their credit card payments were declined and that they were unable to withdraw cash. One customer said that her payment for an online doctor consultation could not go through.

Another said, “Have breakfast with a client, used credit card and then atm card to pay bills, all declined.”

Several angry customers also said that it was embarrassing for them when their credit card transactions were declined.

At around noon time, OCBC announced again that their services have been restored.

“Our customers can perform banking transactions at our branches, ATMs, internet and mobile banking platforms, and Velocity. Cards services have also been restored,” OCBC said.

“We would like to assure our customers that no customer data has been compromised and that their monies remain safe,” it added.

In an update at about 12.20 pm, the bank said all banking services have been restored.

“Our customers can perform banking transactions at our branches, ATMs, internet and mobile banking platforms, and Velocity. Cards services have also been restored,” the spokesperson said, adding that the bank is investigating the cause of the “technical problem”.

“We would like to assure our customers that no customer data has been compromised and that their monies remain safe.”

OCBC banking services failed in 2022

This is not the first time OCBC has been facing “technical issues”. On 9 Jun last year, OCBC also faced technical problems affecting its online payment services.

It also had to “apologise” for its “technical issues”. At the time, it issued a statement saying, “We apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank our customers for their patience and understanding.”

Hundreds of online users then reacted to its online apology posting, angrily condemning OCBC. One said, “It was frustrating and disturbing to not be advised about the problem.”

Another said she was “frustrated” with OCBC “as a message could have been sent to alert users about the technical issue.”

New head of OCBC Group Operations & Technology

Coincidentally, OCBC’s “technical issues” seem to surface more ever since it has a new leader, Praveen Raina, heading its Group Operations & Technology. According to its Linkedin, Praveen became OCBC”s Head of Group Operations & Technology in Jun 2021.

He is also featured prominently as part of the senior management team of OCBC. On OCBC’s page, it said:

Mr Praveen Raina was appointed Head of Group Operations and Technology in June 2021… Mr Raina joined OCBC in August 2008 and has held various senior management positions in Group Operations and Technology. He was appointed Executive Vice President in May 2019 and assumed the role of Global Head of Operations and Technology at OCBC’s private banking subsidiary, Bank of Singapore, in December the same year. Mr Raina has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Windsor and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Science from the Memorial University of Newfoundland.

His Linkedin page also mentioned that he attended short executive programs at INSEAD, Stanford and Harvard in 2011, 2013 and 2018 respectively.

According to QS Ranking, both Memorial University of Newfoundland and University of Windsor are ranked in the region of #641-650 in QS World University Rankings 2024.