Standard Bank Group CEO Sim Tshabalala (Gallo Images/Business Day/Freddy Mavunda)
Standard Bank customers have taken to social media platform X to vent about an alleged “massive security breach” with several clients reporting fraudulent transactions or money being missing from their accounts.
The Standard Bank X handle (@StandardBankZA) was ablaze on Tuesday morning with clients complaining that their bank accounts had been compromised, with many saying they were unable to block their cards or accounts due to the long wait in the bank’s call centre queue.
Even three-times Comrades marathon winner Gerda Steyn appeared to have been affected, with the long-distance running ace complaining on her X profile (@gerdarun) that she had been struggling to get through to an agent on the Standard Bank fraud hotline.
Trying to report fraud @StandardBankZA but nobody picking up the phone… been on hold for over a hour already!!
— Gerda Steyn (@gerdarun) July 2, 2024
Some X users also claimed the Standard Bank app was offline, though when News24 tested this, the app was found to be working. At the time of publication, questions sent to Standard Bank had not yet been answered, though the bank’s communications team said it was looking into News24’s query.
@StandardBankZA bank, I have fraud transaction that are going off my account, calling your fraud team been holding for 15 minutes, cannot stop my card cause your app is offline on the function, whats going on standard bank, inside job?
— Big Moss???? (@BiggMosss) July 1, 2024
A WARNING to anyone that banks with Standard bank. Check your accounts. There’s a massive security breach with that bank & they are going about their day as if NOTHING happened. Several fraudulent transactions were attempted on my account last night. 3k gone with no explanation??
— Ayanda (@ayandamthethwa_) July 2, 2024
Standard Bank has suffered a series of systems outages in recent years, with 2022 particularly badly affected. That eventually resulted in the group’s chief engineering officer, Alpheus Mangale, who was responsible for the stability of its IT systems, stepping down with immediate effect in June 2022. The following month Standard Bank also appointed Margaret Nienaber as its chief operating officer in an attempt to improve its internal operational performance.
Nienaber, who had previously been Standard Bank’s head of client solutions, was put in charge of the group’s engineering and innovation functions as well as brand and marketing. At the time, the bank said she would also continue to be responsible for its client solutions division.
Standard Bank’s 2023 remuneration report showed Nienaber enjoyed a 37% bump in her single-figure remuneration, which rose to R59.797 million last year, from R43.644 million in 2022.
