KARACHI: The largest representative interbank network in Pakistan, 1LINK, is a consortium of banks. On Monday, a breakdown in those banks’ communication with 1LINK made it extremely difficult for consumers to withdraw cash from automated teller machines (ATMs).
Many consumers were impacted by the roadblock that was aimed at cash withdrawals from ATMs as a result of the interruption.
Customers of the banks claim that as a result of the outage, internet money transfers were also impacted.
Furthermore, in response to the doubts and concerns of the consumers, 1LINK administrators stated that while the issue is being rectified, connectivity with some banks was impacted.
Interestingly, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) released a statement earlier in August, days after purported reports of ATM closures throughout Pakistan started to circulate.
