Last updated: 23 October 2026

Google has admitted that the outage which froze Revolut cards and disrupted Lloyds, Halifax and HSBC apps on Tuesday 20 October started when a power cut hit one of its London data centres and the backup generators failed to start. Its preliminary incident report, posted on 22 October, puts the disruption at 6 hours and 10 minutes.

Revolut has apologised, but has not announced any compensation scheme. Meanwhile, MPs have given the Bank of England and the FCA until 4 November to explain what happened, including how many consumers were harmed and what redress they got.

Here is what Google’s report says, what you can claim if the outage cost you money, and how to complain.

What Google says went wrong

The outage hit Google Cloud’s London region, europe-west2, which is Google’s only UK cloud region. According to Google’s own report:

• At 06:53 BST the mains power supply to the data centre hosting zone europe-west2-b was disrupted.
• The site switched to battery (UPS) power, but both the primary and backup control systems failed to start the diesel generators.
• When the batteries ran out at 07:00 BST, servers, network hardware and storage in that zone went offline.
• Traffic then piled onto the region’s other two zones, which ran out of capacity. That is why services outside the failed zone also broke.

Time (BST, 20 Oct)	What happened, per Google
06:53	Power disruption at the europe-west2-b facility
07:00	Batteries depleted; zone goes offline
07:08	Google’s monitoring alerts engineers
12:29	Most Google Cloud services recovered
13:10	Over 99% of virtual machines healthy; “vast majority” of workloads recovered
15:03	Incident closed

Google’s timeline covers its own platform. Banks and apps running on it needed extra time to restart their own systems and clear backlogs, so customers saw problems for longer. Google says a final report with preventative actions will follow.

Who was affected

Revolut confirmed the cause publicly, saying customers’ money and data “remained safe throughout this incident”. Card payments, transfers, cash withdrawals, app log-ins and trading were all hit. Computer Weekly and the Telegraph also reported problems at Lloyds, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, HSBC, NatWest, Barclays and Nationwide, though not every bank has confirmed a link to Google.

Revolut has warned that card payments or refunds made during the disruption may take a few days to show in your balance. If a balance still looks wrong, it asks customers to use the in-app chat.

Halifax customers are also in the middle of being moved across to Lloyds, which we covered in what the Halifax move to Lloyds means for your money.

Can you get compensation?

There is no automatic payout for an outage in the UK. But you do have rights, and the regulators are now asking about redress directly.

1. Failed or duplicated payments must be put right

Under regulation 91 of the Payment Services Regulations 2017, your bank or e-money firm is responsible for carrying out payments you authorise correctly. If one wasn’t executed or went wrong, it must refund it and restore your account to how it would have been. Check for payments taken twice or debited without reaching the payee.

We set out how these refund rules work in our guide to Barclays Click to Pay and your refund rights.

2. Knock-on costs can be claimed

If the outage directly cost you money, such as a late-payment fee on a bill, a taxi because your card was declined, or a missed booking, you can claim it back. Keep receipts and screenshots of error messages.

There is precedent. After its January 2025 outage, Barclays told the Treasury Committee it expected to pay between £5 million and £7.5 million in compensation to affected customers.

3. Distress and inconvenience

The Financial Ombudsman can also award money for distress and inconvenience. Its published guidance is a useful reality check:

Impact	Typical Ombudsman award
One-off, short incident put right quickly	An apology or under £100
Larger single mistake, impact lasting days or weeks	Up to about £300
Considerable distress or effort over weeks or months	Over £300 to about £750

For most people who simply couldn’t pay for a few hours, the realistic outcome is an apology or a small goodwill payment. If you were stranded, missed a time-critical payment, or are vulnerable, your claim is stronger.

How to complain to Revolut

1. Start in the app: Profile, then Help, and explain what happened, what it cost you and what you want.
2. If that doesn’t resolve it, make a formal complaint through Revolut’s complaints policy page or by email to [email protected].
3. Revolut says it acknowledges complaints within 3 business days. Payment-related complaints generally take up to 15 business days (35 in exceptional cases).
4. If you’re unhappy with the final response, you have 6 months to go to the Financial Ombudsman for free.

The same route applies at Lloyds, Halifax, HSBC and other banks: complain to the bank first, then go to the Ombudsman.

Why the regulators are involved this time

In July, HM Treasury designated Google Cloud EMEA Limited, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and Oracle as “critical third parties” to UK finance. The Treasury Committee had pushed for this in a January report. It gives the Bank of England, the PRA and the FCA powers to investigate and direct cloud providers, not just the banks that use them. This outage is the first big test of that regime.

Within hours, Treasury Committee chair Dame Meg Hillier wrote to Andrew Bailey and Nikhil Rathi. According to Computer Weekly, her nine questions include how many UK consumers were affected, which services failed and for how long, and “what harm or redress resulted”. She wants an initial answer by 4 November 2026 and full details by 20 January 2027.

The FCA told the Telegraph it is “engaging with them and affected firms” and expects firms to fix issues quickly and keep customers informed. The Bank of England and PRA declined to comment.

What to do now

• Check your statements from 20 October onwards for duplicates, missing refunds or payments that never arrived.
• Write down your costs while you remember them, with receipts.
• Complain within the bank’s process if you lost money; don’t wait for a scheme that may never come.
• Ignore “outage compensation” calls or texts. Revolut handles claims through its app and its own complaints channels.

Your money itself was never at risk. Revolut said so, and eligible deposits with Revolut Bank UK are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000. You can read how bank packages and protection differ in our Club Lloyds and Lloyds Premier guide.

FAQ

Is Revolut paying compensation for the outage?

Revolut has apologised but, as of 23 October, has not announced a compensation scheme. You can still claim for costs the outage caused you through its complaints process.

What caused the Google Cloud outage?

Google says a power disruption hit the data centre hosting zone europe-west2-b in London, and a control-system fault stopped the backup generators from starting. Once the batteries ran out, the zone went offline.

How long did the outage last?

Google puts its own disruption at 6 hours and 10 minutes, from 07:00 to 13:10 BST on 20 October. Some banks and apps took longer to recover fully.

Was my money safe?

Yes. Revolut said customers’ money and data stayed safe. The outage stopped access to accounts; it did not affect balances, though some payments made during it took days to appear.

Can I go to the Financial Ombudsman?

Yes, once your bank has sent its final response, or if it hasn’t replied within 15 business days for payment complaints (35 in exceptional cases) or 8 weeks for others. You have 6 months from the final response.

Is Revolut covered by the FSCS?

Eligible deposits held with Revolut Bank UK Ltd are covered up to £120,000. Some customers still on older Revolut Ltd e-money accounts are safeguarded rather than FSCS-protected; your app shows which entity you’re with.

Sources: Google Cloud preliminary incident report (22 Oct 2026); Treasury Committee: Google Cloud outage letter (20 Oct 2026); Computer Weekly (21 Oct 2026); Payment Services Regulations 2017, reg. 91; Financial Ombudsman: compensation for distress or inconvenience; Revolut: UK banking licence and FSCS; Telegraph, 20 Oct 2026; Barclays letter to the Treasury Committee, March 2025 (as reported by PA).