Google Cloud outage knocks banks and websites offline across Europe

Power event at London data centre disrupts Revolut, Halifax and court live streams

By LineZotpaper

Published20 October 2026

Updated20 October 2026

Read Time2 min

Sources5 outlets

Google Cloud services failed across Europe on Tuesday after a "power event" at a data centre in London, taking banking apps, websites and court live streams offline. The incident began shortly after 6am UK time and left customers of major UK banks unable to access their accounts.

Google Cloud services across Europe were disrupted on Tuesday after what the company described as a "power event" at a data centre in London, taking down banking apps, websites and court live streams.

The company's status page said the incident began shortly after 6am UK time within the europe-west2-b zone, and warned that services in parts of Europe could experience "elevated errors and intermittent network issues". Google said its engineering teams were investigating. No serious issues were reported in other regions.

Banking giant Revolut said it was "currently experiencing a service disruption affecting multiple services", adding that "all our customers' money and data are safe". Halifax said on X that customers were "having issues with our app and online".

The UK's Courts and Tribunals Service said the outage was affecting its Cloud Video Platform, used for some remote hearings, including live streams of the trial of comedian Russell Brand.

British media outlets reported that Royal Mail, Microsoft and delivery company DPD were also experiencing issues.

Analysis

Why This Matters

A single data centre failure has taken down banking services, showing how reliant everyday services are on a handful of cloud providers.
Customers of major banks were left unable to access accounts, and court hearings were disrupted, with real-world consequences.
The outage affects several countries in Europe, and the response will be watched closely for how quickly Google can restore full service.

Background

Cloud outages are not uncommon, but when they hit hyperscale providers they can cascade across industries that host critical systems on shared infrastructure. Google Cloud operates data centres in multiple regions worldwide, each divided into zones, and this incident was concentrated in one zone in London. Businesses typically design systems to survive the loss of a single zone, but not all do.

Key Perspectives

Google Cloud: Says the cause was a power event in the europe-west2-b zone and that engineering teams are investigating; it expects elevated errors and intermittent network issues in parts of Europe. Affected banks and customers: Revolut and Halifax acknowledged service disruptions promptly, with Revolut stressing that customer money and data were safe, but users were still unable to access accounts. Other affected services: The UK courts and media outlets report wider knock-on effects, including remote court hearings and delivery services, underscoring how widely the same infrastructure is used.

What to Watch

Whether Google Cloud updates its status page with a root cause and a recovery estimate.
How quickly banking apps and court live streams are restored to normal.
Whether regulators or customers press for more detail on redundancy, if the outage or its impact is prolonged.

Sources

Banks, websites offline as Google Cloud services fail across Europe · Just In
Google Cloud Outage Hits U.K. Banks · WSJ.com: US Business
Banks, websites offline as Google Cloud services fail across Europe · Latest business news
Power outage hits Google Cloud services disrupting UK banks · Euronews
Banks, websites offline as Google Cloud services fail across Europe · Latest Science news

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 6 supported.

Show each claim

Partly supportedGoogle Cloud’s outage knocked banks and websites offline across Europe.Just In: “Google Cloud services have failed across Europe ... The issue has reportedly affected banks and other websites across the continent.”
Partly supportedA power event at a London data centre disrupted Revolut, Halifax and court live streams.Just In: “Banking giant Revolut is among the institutions believed to have been affected by the outage. ... Halifax wrote on X that customers were “having issues with our app and online”. ... Court live streams ... were also reportedly down as a result.”
Not in the sourcesThe incident happened on Tuesday.
SupportedA power event at a London data centre caused the Google Cloud outage.Just In: “Google Cloud services have failed across Europe after a “power event” at a data centre based in London”
Partly supportedThe outage took banking apps, websites and court live streams offline.Just In: “Customers of major UK banks were reporting issues accessing their accounts. ... other websites across the continent. ... Court live streams ... were also reportedly down as a result.”
SupportedThe incident began shortly after 6am UK time.Just In: “Google said the incident began shortly after 6am UK time”
Partly supportedCustomers of major UK banks were unable to access their accounts.Just In: “Customers of major UK banks were reporting issues accessing their accounts.”
SupportedGoogle warned that services in parts of Europe could experience “elevated errors and intermittent network issues”.Just In: “services in parts of Europe could experience “elevated errors and intermittent network issues”.”
SupportedRevolut said it was “currently experiencing a service disruption affecting multiple services”.Just In: ““We are currently experiencing a service disruption affecting multiple services,” the bank said in a statement on social media.”
SupportedRevolut said “all our customers' money and data are safe”.Just In: ““We can confirm that all our customers’ money and data are safe.””
SupportedHalifax said customers were “having issues with our app and online”.Just In: “Halifax, wrote on X that customers were “having issues with our app and online”.”
Partly supportedThe Courts and Tribunals Service said the Google outage was affecting its Cloud Video Platform.Just In: ““We’re aware of an issue affecting Cloud Video Platform (CVP), used for some remote hearings,” the UK’s Courts and Tribunals Service said on X.”