Customers of Cambodia’s largest commercial bank, Acleda, were left high and dry yesterday, unable to access money from the bank’s ATMs after a power outage disrupted its systems.

Customers attempting to withdraw cash or order statements were denied by the ATMs, which claimed the transactions were “invalid”.

“The system was down since the morning … at 8:30am,” due to the electricity going out, So Phonnary, Alceda chief operations officer, told the Post yesterday. “It affected the system.”  

The system had been reconnected at 2:30pm, he added

The system error affected Acleda ATMs throughout the country, according to an assistant manager at a branch in Phnom Penh, who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The source said the ATMs had failed and that it was impossible to withdraw cash at the counter, as the banks could not check the balance of the customers’ accounts. Signature and fingerprint security systems were not working either, the source said.

Customers could get cash from other banks with an Acleda Visa debit card but not with a regular ATM card, the source said.

According to the source a similar system error had previously occurred over a year ago.

Notices posted at Acleda ATMs say the system shuts down for seven minutes a month on the last day of each month for system upgrades.

Acleda Bank has 161 ATMs operating nationwide, according to its website.