NEW YORK (AP) — Smoke at one of Wells Fargo's data centers left some of the bank's customers without access to online or mobile banking as well as accessing cash from ATMs on Thursday.
Wells Fargo said workers discovered the problem following routine maintenance.
The issues persisted for some customers Friday morning who say they're still having issues accessing their accounts.
"We're working to restore all our services as soon as possible," said bank spokeswoman Hilary O'Byrne. The bank apologized to customers for any inconvenience caused by the system issues, and said it would reverse any Wells Fargo fees incurred as a result of the issues.
Business news network CNBC reported that the incident happened at a data center in Shoreview, Minnesota, at around 5 a.m. CST and was under control starting at 9 a.m. Wells Fargo did not comment on the data center's location or the possible source of the smoke at the facility.
It is unknown how many Wells Fargo customers were impacted. Twitter complaints about Wells Fargo being down were nationwide, particularly in the parts of the country where Wells has a large presence, like the South, California and the East Coast.
Wells Fargo said that some customers were having issues accessing cash from ATMs as well as online banking.
Jennifer Lowenstein told 11Alive's Elwyn Lopez that her direct deposit isn't showing up in her Wells Fargo account. "It really hurts me because the money that's coming into that, that's my main account, and I have a mortgage that I need to pay," she said.
Lowenstein says many others depend on her. "My mom is on hospice so I'm here here taking care of her," she added. "I have two children, my son is disabled, my daughter is is high school senior, so you know, of course they need their things."
Wells Fargo apologized for "any inconvenience" on Twitter, adding "We know this has created difficulty for our customers and we are sorry to have let you down. Please reach out if you have concerns or need any help today, and ask for your understanding as our phone wait times may be longer than usual."
Lowenstein says this is more than just an inconvenience. "My phone was temporarily disconnected because I didn't have enough money to pay it. I had to go and ask somebody to borrow some money to get my phone back on."
When she asked the bank about it, she says they said it would be resolved soon.
"They did issue a statement on the mobile app saying that it was available and everything is fine, but it's not."
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, the nation's third-largest bank, can't seem to catch a break when it comes to its customer service issues over the last few years. The bank has been plagued with scandals over its sales practices, attaching insurance contracts to auto loans that did not need it, and putting homes into foreclosure where it shouldn't have happened. The bank has been fined more than a billion dollars for its customer service failures.