What to do if you can't access online banking

Being locked out of online banking is usually a temporary block, not a lost account. Banks commonly freeze online access after a set number of failed logins: Investec, for example, temporarily blocks access after three incorrect attempts, and Leeds Building Society says it will not allow access after three incorrect log-in attempts, to stop fraudsters making repeated guesses¹. Your money stays in the account, and deposits are protected up to £120,000 per person per banking licence³.

What you do next depends on why you are locked out. If it is a forgotten password or a security block, the bank can usually restore access over the phone or in a branch. If fraud is behind it, the priority is to tell the bank immediately and change any passwords that may have been taken. If the bank itself is the problem, you have a right to complain, and a route to the free Financial Ombudsman Service if the complaint is not resolved.

This page sets out the ways to reach your money while access is blocked, what to do if a scam is involved, how to keep bills paid, how the complaints timetable works, and what protection applies throughout.

Other ways to reach your account: app, phone and branch

Losing online access does not usually mean losing access to your money. Most banks offer several routes in, and the right one depends on what has been blocked.

If only your card is locked, online banking often still works for most things. AIB (NI) says that when a card PIN is locked, you can still access balances, transactions, transfers between your own accounts, transfers to existing payees and bill payments to existing saved bills, but you cannot complete transactions that require a card⁷. That distinction matters: a card problem and a login problem are not the same thing.

If your login itself is blocked, the phone is usually the fastest route. Banks can reset credentials, lift a security block and confirm recent transactions by phone. A branch visit works too, and most banks give telephone and online access plus branch instructions to someone acting under a power of attorney, though only a small number of banks give access to the mobile app⁸. Third party access arrangements, such as Santander's, let a nominated person use online and mobile banking, by phone and in branch⁹.

App-only banks are the exception. With a digital bank, all banking is done through the app and you cannot go into a branch to speak to someone¹⁰. If the app is the only route and it is blocked, the phone line is your only human contact.

If you are locked out because of fraud or a scam

Fraud is a common reason people lose access, and it is also a common reason people complain. The most complained about issue in relation to current accounts was fraud and scams, according to the Financial Ombudsman Service's 2024/25 complaints data¹². Age shapes the picture: in one sample of payday loan complaints, alleged fraud was the main reason for complaint for 39% of those aged 18 to 24, compared with 15% among the over-55s¹³.

Two things tend to happen. Either a criminal has taken control of your account and the bank has frozen it while it investigates, or the bank has blocked access because it suspects someone else is trying to get in. Both are protective, and both are resolved by talking to the bank.

Watch for the scam that follows an outage. The Financial Ombudsman Service says it hears from people who were scammed by fraudsters who used a bank outage to trick them into sharing their bank details, for example by pretending to call from the bank and offering to help¹⁴. A genuine bank will not ask you to lie to it, and if someone does, the advice is blunt: hang up, because it is a scam¹⁵.

Loss of access can itself be the warning sign. If you cannot get into your email, bank or social media accounts, it could be a sign that a criminal has taken control of them, which is a pattern seen in SIM swap fraud¹⁶. If that happens, contact your bank and your mobile network, and change passwords from a different device.

Paying bills and moving money while you are locked out

The practical worry is not the login, it is the Direct Debit due tomorrow. Most of the day-to-day jobs of online banking can be done another way, and some can be done by someone else on your behalf.

Online banking normally covers checking your balance, checking statements, transferring money between your own accounts, sending money to people you know, and setting up or cancelling Direct Debits and standing orders¹⁷. If that is blocked, the same tasks can usually be done by phone or in branch, and a nominated third party can do them for you if the bank allows it⁹.

Some payments can be redirected entirely. If you have difficulties opening or managing an account, you may receive benefits through the Payment Exception Service¹⁸. If you are unable to manage a bank account at all, contact the office that pays you to discuss the options available¹⁹.

A few things are harder without online access. Some banks do not let you set up a new payee on their mobile app, so you need to log in on a computer, and some may require a card reader to verify it is you setting up the transfer²⁰. If you are locked out of online banking entirely, setting up a brand new payee may have to wait until access is restored, or be done over the phone.

How to complain: eight weeks for a final response

If the bank cannot or will not restore your access, you can complain, and there is a fixed timetable. Start with the bank's customer services, then make a formal complaint. The bank has eight weeks to investigate and give a final response⁵. If you still do not agree, or the eight weeks pass without a final answer, you can take the complaint to the free Financial Ombudsman Service²².

Payments complaints run to a shorter clock. For a complaint related to payments, the bank has 15 days to investigate and give a final response⁴. The same 15 day deadline applies to complaints about frozen accounts and blocked payments: the bank must look into things and get back to you within 15 days, either with a response or to explain what is happening²³.

If no final letter arrives within eight weeks and the bank is not to be given more time, the Financial Ombudsman Service can be contacted for a complaints form²⁴. The ombudsman's own guidance is that the company is complained to first, and that if it does not send a final response letter within eight weeks, or the response is unsatisfactory, the complaint can be brought to it²⁵.

The Payment Systems Regulator's route is the same: contact your financial provider by phone, and you can also contact the Financial Ombudsman Service if you are still unhappy²⁶. Even where a dispute is about something else, access to the ombudsman remains²⁷.

When the problem is the bank, not you: switching to another account

Sometimes the block is a symptom of a wider problem with the bank, and moving becomes the sensible option. You can switch using the Current Account Switch Service even if you are overdrawn²⁸. You will need to agree any overdraft facilities you require with the new bank, or make separate arrangements to repay the existing overdraft before switching²⁹. Some guidance warns that if you are currently overdrawn you might not be able to switch until you have paid off the overdraft, so check with both banks before starting³⁰.

Two things do not move automatically. Any authorisations you have given to third party providers to access your old account are not switched by the Current Account Switch Service³¹. That means open banking apps and payment services connected to your old account will need setting up again. Lloyds, for example, says it cannot help with accounts added from another provider³³.

If you are switching because of a service failure rather than a better offer, the Current Account Switch Service handles the mechanics: payments in and out are redirected, and the old account is closed. If you would rather keep the old account open, a partial switch moves the payments without closing it. If you are overdrawn and worried about the move, switching while overdrawn sets out the position in more detail.

FSCS protection: up to £120,000 per person

A login problem does not put your money at risk, and neither does a bank failure, up to a limit. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme protects deposits in banks, building societies and credit unions up to £120,000 per person per banking licence³. The scheme describes itself as the body that gives automatic protection up to £120,000 if your bank fails³⁴.

The limit works per person, per authorised firm. FSCS protects up to £120,000 per person or company, per authorised firm³⁵. On a joint account, FSCS protects each of you, any number of account holders, up to £120,000 in total across all accounts you hold³⁷. For bank, building society and credit union failures, the maximum compensation limit is £120,000 per person, per banking licence³⁸.

The limit rose from £85,000 to £120,000 on 1 December 2025³⁹. Older guidance still quotes the previous figure of £85,000 per person, per financial institution⁴⁰, so a page you read may be out of date. The current figure is £120,000.

Two practical points follow. First, if you hold large balances, spreading them across institutions with separate banking licences matters, because the limit applies per licence, not per brand. Second, if your bank failed while you were locked out, the scheme would pay out regardless of your login status. The FSCS protection page explains how the limits apply across accounts and brands.