Crédit Agricole accidentally sent an internal test notification reading “Test Cédric” to customers via its Ma Banque app on June 9.
After receiving the notification, many customers clicked on it only to be redirected to the app with a message stating that an error had occurred.
Crédit Agricole says on its website that it has some 24 million customers in France, and because so many of these attempted to access the notification at the same time, the resulting surge in traffic caused temporary difficulties accessing the app and some online services.
The bank eventually displayed a notice within the app explaining: “If you have received a notification from Cedric, it was the result of a technical incident and not fraud.” It also reassured customers that “their transactions remain secure.”
Crédit Agricole stressed that its information systems had not been compromised and that no personal data had been exposed. According to outage-tracking website Down Detector, reports peaked at around 7,800 shortly after the notification was sent.
The mistake quickly became a source of amusement on social media, with users sharing screenshots of the notification and speculating about who “Cédric” might be. Some joked that it was probably an intern carrying out tests.
Crédit Agricole joined in the humour on social media, posting: “When you're the leading bank in France, you don't let anyone down. And especially not Cédric.”
