Russian banks suffer hours long outage due to payment glitch

A major outage hit Russian banking apps and payments, blocking card use, cash withdrawals and mobile access for hours, with a temporary disruption on 3 April 2026 affecting Sberbank and spreading to VTB Bank and T-Bank. Starting around 10 a.m. Moscow time, customers reported issues across mobile apps, transfers, and ATM withdrawals, forcing many businesses to accept only cash and causing long queues in cities.

The outage affected major banks including Sberbank, VTB, Alfa-Bank, T-Bank, and Gazprombank, and was described as colossal by local outlets, with complaints numbering in the thousands and Moscow accounting for a large share. Russia’s National Payment Card System said the disruption was due to a technical failure at one bank and did not affect funds, while Kommersant linked it to a Sberbank glitch possibly worsened by VPN use.

The Record Media reported that the outage also impacted public transport, with Moscow metro turnstiles unable to accept cards, and there were signs that a government push to curb VPNs may have contributed to the disruption.