Online, mobile banking still being fixed, says BPI

MANILA (UPDATED) - The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) on Wednesday night said it has fixed the "internal systems error" that caused unauthorized changes to its clients accounts.

In a statement, BPI said it was able to resolve the glitch at around 10 p.m.

"We would like to announce that the internal systems error related to transaction mis-postings has been resolved. Access to ATMs has also been restored," the bank said.

"Please accept our gratitude for your patience, and our apologies for any inconvenience you may have experienced," it added.

The bank earlier assured its clients that none of them will lose money because of the error.

"Should you have questions, please contact us at CBGCustomerCareDepartment@bpi.com.ph," BPI said.

BPI Senior Vice President for Strategic Marketing and Decision Support Catherine Santamaria said the bank's online banking and other channels are still being fixed.

"What we're saying is that the ATMs are the ones which are available already. Our internet and our mobile are still being restored as we speak," she told ANC's Business Nightly.

"We want to make sure that everything is up. The most critical touchpoint or the most critical thing that the client would want to do is to have access to their money so our ATMs are up. For balances that look at through the internet, through our BPI Express Online and through our mobile app, it's just taking a little time but we should be up," Santamaria added.

Santamaria said they are expecting online and mobile access to be restored before midnight.

"It's just the timing. To put up the system, it's not automatically that all will be up at the same time," she explained.

She also said some of those who "received" extra money on their accounts went to their branches to return the money.

"For those that have withdrawn money, we actually have clients who are returning it. We're saying that we believe our BPI clients are honest and responsible, and they know that if it's not their money, they will be returning it to us.

Santamaria, however, said she has no information yet as to the amount needed to be returned.

She also said BPI is ready for any investigation on the glitch.

"With BPI, our processes are very clear and we follow very strict protocol. So if I'm not mistaken, the regulators will be here tomorrow," Santamaria said, referring to incoming Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' governor Nestor Espenilla's call for an investigation.

Bank not hacked, says BPI president

Irate depositors flooded the Ayala-owned bank's social media accounts with complaints early Wednesday over concerns that their accounts had been compromised and that they lost money.

BPI President Cezar Consing has apologized for the glitch, wherein transactions from April 27 to May 2 were credited twice. He also dispelled speculations that the bank had been attacked by hackers.

BPI suspended access to its online channels as it worked to fix the glitch.

The bank said some accounts were "debited twice or credited twice for a past transaction."

To help its clients, who were unable to access ATMs, phone banking and online services, BPI also extended banking hours up to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.