Google Cloud outage disrupts UK online services; link to bank app problems unconfirmed

A Google Cloud outage disrupted online services in the UK on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, according to Anadolu Agency and the BBC.

According to the BBC, Google Cloud reported an "issue with multiple services" at its UK data centre complex, known as "europe-west2". The company's service health dashboard first showed the incident on Monday evening, 19 October 2026, UK time. In the early hours of Tuesday, the dashboard was updated to report "elevated errors and intermittent network failures" across some services.

Google Cloud attributed the outage to a "power event", the BBC reported. A Google Cloud spokesperson said "we are investigating this further". The company apologised "to all who are affected by the disruption". It did not give a clear timeline for resolving the issues.

Other services reporting problems

According to the BBC, the banks Revolut, Lloyds and Halifax were among those reporting disruption to their apps. Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, all owned by Lloyds Banking Group, had some problems on Tuesday. Downdetector recorded more than 1,500 reports of issues affecting Revolut services shortly after 08:00 BST, the BBC reported.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service said it was aware of an issue affecting the video platform used for remote hearings, according to the BBC. Delivery firm DPD said it was "aware of connection issues". Anadolu Agency reported that UK retailers were also affected. The reports do not name any retailers.

What is disputed

It is not settled whether the Google Cloud outage caused the disruption at banks and other services. A headline from Anadolu Agency presents the outage as disrupting UK banks, retailers and delivery services. The BBC reports that the link between the bank app problems and the outage has not been officially confirmed. It adds that few affected platforms explicitly tied their problems to the incident.

What each side says

• Google Cloud says a "power event" is behind the outage. It is investigating, referred journalists to its service health dashboard and apologised, according to the BBC.
• Revolut: a spokesperson told the BBC: "We are currently experiencing a service disruption affecting multiple services". Revolut said the cause was a third-party issue, which it did not name. The spokesperson said "we can confirm that all our customers' money and data are safe."
• Lloyds Bank: a spokesperson told the BBC its app was working normally, but "we understand some are having issues with certain online services this morning". The spokesperson added: "We are aware of similar issues affecting other organisations and are monitoring the situation closely".

What is not known

The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not describe the nature, location or cause of the "power event". They do not include a timeline for full restoration. They do not give the total number of customers affected. The Anadolu Agency report reviewed by Vocemundi consists of a headline only.

Analysis

The episode highlights how many UK services may depend on a small number of cloud providers, though the reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not establish which affected firms rely on Google Cloud. If companies later confirm the link, it could add to debate over concentration risk in critical services such as banking and courts. If other causes emerge, the timing may prove coincidental. Key open questions include what the "power event" was, how long recovery takes, and whether regulators or affected firms will publish further details.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.