Switch glitches hit some ANZ accounts

A small number of ANZ Bank customers are reporting glitches in the wake of the bank's weekend switch of 2.6 million customer accounts to the computer system it inherited from its 2003 acquisition of National Bank.

A Wellington woman said she had been unable to access her Visa account online for two days. "This is a real problem for me now as I am currently overseas," she said.

A few others complained the descriptions they had keyed-in to identify automated payments had been lost, leaving them uncertain what charges coming out of their account were for.

ANZ Bank spokesman Stefan Herrick said anyone experiencing the former problem could expect it to be addressed soon.

"We are finalising the linking of accounts in internet banking. Customers can expect this to be completed shortly. If they can't view an account they are expecting to see, they should contact us and we'll sort it out," he said.

The latter problem affected "a small number of customers" and would be addressed by a modification in the New Year. In the meantime, ANZ suggested a work-around which involved customers deleting and reloading their payments, for which there was no charge.

There was also an alternative which involved cross-referencing account numbers from two lists.

The bank was not aware of any widespread problems with the $221 million technology merger - one of the largest in information technology projects in New Zealand history.

- © Fairfax NZ News