Garda (Irish police) have reported that officers were dispatched to several cash machines as a result of technological issues at the Bank of Ireland that allowed users to withdraw money despite having little or no money in their accounts.
After word of the issue emerged on Tuesday, lengthy lines started to form at numerous cash machines throughout the Republic of Ireland.
Social media posts also seemed to depict officers who had been sent to cash machines.
The bank apologised for the inconvenience and stated the problems had been fixed on Wednesday morning.
It stated that consumers’ accounts would still be affected by transfers and withdrawals.
According to Garda, there has been an unusually high number of activity at various cash machines across the nation.
A spokeswoman said: “Local decisions were made on a case-by-case basis based on the public safety and public order presented to members of A Garda Sochána.”
“A Garda Sochána remind individuals of their personal accountability in conducting their personal banking.”
Although Northern Ireland clients were also impacted by the technical difficulties, according to Bank of Ireland, it “didn’t have similar reports of customers using Northern Ireland ATMs late last night.”
It also mentioned the possibility of overnight account payments into Wednesday.
The representative stated, “We are aware that some clients were able to withdraw or transfer monies above their customary limitations due to the technical difficulty.
These withdrawals and transfers will be credited to consumers’ accounts right away.
“We strongly advise any customer who believes they may be in financial trouble as a result of overdrawing their account to get in touch with us.”
Customers were unable to use the services on Tuesday afternoon, while contactless, card, and cash machine services were unaffected.
Social media reports claimed that certain clients had been able to move more money to external accounts than they had in their Bank of Ireland accounts, withdraw the money, and then transfer the money back.
One person waiting in queue outside an ATM in Stoneybatter, Dublin, informed the Irish Times that he had read about the error online and intended to use it.
“I don’t know if I’ll get away with it, but it’s worth a shot,” he added.