DOMINANT ANGLE
Brussels is gauging the Google Cloud outage in London based on its own Revolut users, who have been deprived of payments and access to their application.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Revolut reported a general outage starting at 9:47, according to VRT NWS, with users unable to access the app or make payments.
- 02
Revolut claims that "all of our customers' money and data are safe" (La Libre Belgique).
- 03
Revolut has exceeded one million users this year and has more than 70 million customers worldwide (La Libre Belgique).
ANALYSIS
Brussels, 20 October 2026. From the Belgian perspective, the Google Cloud outage is initially reported as an incident affecting clients in the country. VRT NWS reports on a power outage that "uren lam" Google Cloud services in the United Kingdom and specifies that "ook Belgische Revolut-gebruikers" are affected. According to the channel, Google reports error messages and temporary network disruptions after power supply issues, and these difficulties have affected several British banks throughout the morning.
VRT reports that the Revolut outage began at 9:47 am. Belgian users were unable to open the application or make payments. The neobank assures that its clients' money and data are secure. The channel also reports that HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland are affected, and cites Sky News: live broadcasts of British court hearings are cut off. Public NHS websites, the transporter DPD, and a bike-sharing service are also inaccessible.
La Libre Belgique, on the other hand, focuses its story on Revolut and card payments. The daily newspaper quotes the company's message: "We are currently experiencing a service interruption affecting several services," emphasizing that "all of our clients' money and data are secure." Revolut's teams have been working to resolve the issue since its identification that morning, and the company apologizes to anyone affected.
The newspaper also notes the reaction of users: on X, hundreds of users complained about not being directly notified and being faced with the fait accompli when trying to pay. It recalls the company's scope, launched in 2015 in the United Kingdom, with over 70 million clients worldwide and having passed the million-user mark in Belgium this year, which explains the attention given to the incident.
As for the origin, VRT indicates that Alphabet, Google's parent company, attributes the problems to a power outage, now repaired, and that the situation should gradually improve for part of the infrastructure services. The remaining duration is deemed uncertain. Both media outlets focus on the concrete effect on consumers and payments, without expanding on European dependence on American cloud providers.
