Customers of several major banks in Hungary should prepare for temporary service disruptions in October. Planned maintenance could affect instant transfers, mobile banking, card payments and ATM services, with most interruptions expected between 16 and 18 October. Here is what customers of OTP, Erste, K&H, MBH and MagNet Bank need to know.
Five major banks announce maintenance work
Several Hungarian banks are carrying out planned IT maintenance and system upgrades in October, temporarily affecting access to certain banking services.
The disruptions at some banks are linked to a scheduled upgrade of Hungary’s central instant payment system, operated by GIRO Zrt., on 18 October. Other outages are related to maintenance of the banks’ own IT systems.
The most significant disruptions are expected overnight between 17 and 18 October, although some banks have also announced maintenance at other times. Customers are advised to check their bank’s official announcements and arrange important transactions outside the affected periods wherever possible.
Pénzcentrum has gathered the most important pieces of information customers should know about the outages.
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OTP Bank: Instant transfers and digital services affected
According to OTP Bank, the acceptance and processing of instant payment orders will be suspended between 1am and 3am on Sunday, 18 October, due to the GIRO system upgrade. Further maintenance is scheduled for the following periods:
- 18 October, 2 AM–4.30 AM
- 25 October, midnight–4 AM
During these periods, several digital services for business customers will be unavailable. These include eBIZ, Electra, Vámpénztár, Webshop and Corporate API. SMS services and the approval of online card payments will also be suspended. Some internet banking and mobile banking functions may become temporarily unavailable as well.
Customers who rely on these services for business payments or other time-sensitive transactions should check the bank’s announcements before proceeding.
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Erste Bank: Instant transfers suspended overnight
Erste Bank customers will also face a temporary interruption to instant payments on 18 October. Between 1 AM and 3 AM, customers will be unable to initiate or receive instant bank transfers due to the planned upgrade of GIRO Zrt.’s central system.
Further details are available in Erste Bank’s official announcement.
K&H Bank: Extended outage, but card payments should continue
K&H Bank has announced two separate maintenance periods, including an extended overnight outage.
Between 7 AM and noon on 17 October, the investment module of K&H’s e-bank and mobile banking services, the K&H e-portfólió platform and related investment services will be unavailable. A longer interruption is scheduled from 11 PM on 17 October until 1 PM on 18 October.
During this period, internet banking and mobile banking services will be suspended, along with the financial and investment transactions available through these platforms. The disruption will also affect:
- Cash deposits at ATMs.
- The initiation of instant bank transfers.
- The receipt of payment requests.
However, not all services will be affected. According to the bank, cash withdrawals from ATMs and in-store and online card payments will continue to work. Customers will also be able to block their bank cards through the K&H TeleCenter.
Customers can find further information in K&H Bank’s maintenance notices.
MBH Bank: Instant transfers and qvik payments may be rejected
MBH Bank has announced three maintenance periods in October:
- 22:00 on 16 October to 2 AM on 17 October
- 7 PM–9 PM on 17 October
- Midnight–4 AM on 18 October
Short interruptions may occur across various MBH Netbank platforms, the MBH Bank App, the bank’s business online banking and mobile applications, and the MBH Direct Bank service.
The disruptions could also affect payments. Instant forint transfers and qvik payments may be rejected during the maintenance periods. This includes payments made using QR codes, NFC technology and payment links.
Customers may also experience problems initiating, approving or receiving payment requests. Importantly, transactions that are rejected may need to be initiated again by the customer once the affected services are available.
Further details can be found in MBH Bank’s official maintenance notices.
MagNet Bank: Card payments and ATM withdrawals may be disrupted
MagNet Bank has scheduled maintenance between midnight and 4 AM on 18 October. During this period, ATM cash withdrawals, in-store and online card payments, and SMS services linked to bank cards may be temporarily unavailable.
Customers who expect to need cash or make card payments during these hours should take the possible disruption into account.
The bank’s announcement is available on the MagNet Bank website.
What should bank customers do before the outages?
Customers should avoid leaving time-sensitive banking transactions until the last minute. Anyone planning a large transfer or a payment that must arrive by a particular deadline between 16 and 18 October should check their bank’s maintenance schedule in advance.
It is also important to remember that disruptions may affect individual services differently. For example, card payments may continue to work even when mobile banking or instant transfers are unavailable.
Customers should also check whether any transactions have failed during the maintenance periods. In particular, MBH Bank customers may need to resubmit rejected payment orders rather than assume they will be processed automatically once the system is back online.
For the latest information, customers should consult their bank’s official notices, as the exact services affected may vary between institutions and maintenance periods.