A Google Cloud outage disrupted online services at Halifax and Revolut on October 20, 2026, with both businesses working to restore access. Google subsequently said its London-region disruption lasted six hours and 10 minutes, while Revolut assured customers that their funds and data remained secure.
Key Takeaways
- Halifax and Revolut reported service disruptions on October 20.
- Google recorded the London-region incident from 07:00 to 13:10 BST.
- Cloud-platform recovery did not establish when each bank’s services were fully restored.
Table of Contents
- Google Cloud outage interrupts banking access
- Google identifies power failure in London infrastructure
- Platform recovery and bank restoration are separate milestones
- Conclusion
Google Cloud outage interrupts banking access
Halifax, owned by Lloyds Banking Group, and fintech company Revolut were among the UK businesses affected by the disruption. Both reported restoration efforts, and Revolut said the outage affected multiple aspects of its business.
Revolut’s assurance about customer funds and data was separate from the availability of its services. An interruption to online access does not, by itself, establish that money or information has been compromised.
The available information does not specify every affected banking function or establish a full-restoration time for either Halifax or Revolut.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Compute infrastructure | Google Compute Engine and Google Kubernetes Engine were among the affected products. |
| Database services | Cloud SQL and AlloyDB were among services that failed over to unaffected zones. |
| Customer-facing symptoms | Google reported elevated errors, API timeouts and processing delays. |
| Recovery measures | Engineers isolated the offline zone, adjusted capacity allocations and progressively restored infrastructure. |
Google identifies power failure in London infrastructure
Google’s London-region incident account records disruption between 07:00 and 13:10 BST on October 20. In a preliminary incident report published on October 22, Google attributed the outage to an electrical power interruption at the facility hosting availability zone europe-west2-b.
Google said backup-generator automation failed to start the generators that were meant to take over the electrical load. Once battery reserves were depleted, servers, networking equipment and storage systems went offline.
The impact extended beyond the affected zone. Workloads redirected to other infrastructure created capacity pressure, while requests to components in the offline zone produced timeouts. This explains why some services outside the immediate power-failure location also experienced disruption.
Platform recovery and bank restoration are separate milestones
Google said service availability had recovered for the vast majority of customer workloads by 13:10 BST. Its 15:03 BST update said the issue had been mitigated for most customers, with engineers continuing to address a very small number of remaining cases.
Those updates describe Google’s infrastructure, not the restoration status of individual banking applications. Google’s incident account does not name Halifax or Revolut as affected customers, and it does not substantiate Revolut’s security assurance.
The preliminary findings also remained subject to further investigation. Google said it would publish a final incident report with preventative actions once that work was complete.
Conclusion
Google’s platform largely recovered on October 20, but the available information does not confirm when Halifax and Revolut completed their own restoration. The next announced step is Google’s final incident report, including preventative actions.
Read More News
Disclaimer
This FinanceVelix article provides general information, not personalized financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Market prices, interest rates and economic conditions can change; investments carry a risk of loss. Facts reflect the material available when published and may change. Check important information independently and consult a qualified professional when needed. Mentioning an asset, company, or service is not an endorsement.
