NatWest has issued an apology to customers following an outage that has rendered its app and online banking services inaccessible.

Customers began reporting issues early Tuesday morning, with many unable to log in to their accounts via the smartphone app.

Upon attempting to open the app, users were met with an error message stating, “We’re sorry, some kind of error has occurred when trying to establish a connection between your device and ourselves.”

In response, NatWest directed customers to use telephone banking or visit a branch. The bank stated on its online support page: “Some of our customers are experiencing issues with our mobile app and Online Banking service. We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused and we’re working hard getting everything back up and running for you. We will share an update when we have more information.”

NatWest advised: “If you need to complete a transaction you can continue to do this using our telephone banking service or alternatively you can visit one of our branches or ATMs. If you are looking to make a payment with us today, please consider sending money another way. You can still use your debit or credit card to make payments and get cash from ATMs, branches, and the Post Office.”

Reports of the outage began surfacing around 5:30 am, according to the website DownDetector. The bank is currently working to resolve the issue and restore online services.