Work continues to restore services at charity bank

Experts are trying to restore online services at a specialist bank for charities a week after reports of suspected cyber fraud prompted it to suspend access.

The CAF Bank, based in West Malling, Kent, said it was "not yet in a position to safely restore the service" after identifying what it described as a previously unknown vulnerability in third-party software.

Chief executive Alison Taylor said teams were liaising with technology partners and external experts to resolve the issue and would be working through the weekend.

She said the core bank was not affected, money remained safe, payments were still going through and time-sensitive payments, including payroll, were being prioritised.

CAF Bank, which serves more than 14,000 charities and non-profit organisations across the UK, suspended online services on 24 July after reports of suspected cyber fraud.

The disruption left some charities concerned about their ability to pay staff and suppliers.

In an update to customers, Taylor said staff were working to process payment instructions, including payroll payments, and make outbound verification calls.

She said additional staff had been assigned to telephone banking and temporary processes had been introduced to handle bulk payments more quickly.

"I am acutely aware of the challenges that this will be causing and that many customers are facing long delays to get through to us on the phone," she said.

She said regulators and law enforcement agencies had been kept informed.

CAF Bank said it would provide further updates when more information became available.

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