Damaged optical cables… banks down!

Even some banks were paralyzed, according to testimony. MT speaks of a “case of force majeure beyond (its) control”. This damaged cable problem, however, had effects where we least expected them. This large bank surprised its customers yesterday afternoon because, within one of its branches, located in the center of the country, the entire system was down. She was in fact unable to serve her customers. The cause ? “Internet outage,” the branch attendants explained.

So much so that on a Friday, the day before the weekend – and what’s more, payday in many companies – it was impossible to make withdrawals in this branch, neither at the ATM, nor even at the checkouts. Even the photocopiers were apparently out of service… “A bank cannot be paralyzed because of an Internet outage. They don’t have a Business Continuity Plan? » protests a regular customer.

At the entrance to this bank, the police officers present even asked customers to leave. To make a cash withdrawal, the customer in question then went to another bank, and there, again! The ATM was also “out of service”.

For its part, Mauritius Telecom has taken steps to “redirect Internet traffic” to other undersea cables “in order to limit the impact on customers”.