Microsoft outage hampers email services at Singapore government agencies and banks

Email services at a number of Singapore government agencies, courts and major banks experienced delays on Nov. 13 after a global Microsoft outage affected thousands of users. The Government Technology Agency said it was working with Microsoft to restore the affected systems and advised the public to use agency call centres or official online channels for urgent matters.

A GovTech spokesperson noted that internal Microsoft Teams remained functional, but email disruptions could slow responses to public inquiries. Emergency services, the Singpass platform and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority’s digital arrival card were reported as unaffected.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore warned taxpayers of email difficulties and suggested using Live Chat or the myTax portal, while the Infocomm Media Development Authority flagged possible delays for both incoming and outgoing messages. The Singapore Courts indicated that the issue might affect email-based court applications, though online filing systems and automated alerts continued to work.

Banks also reported email delays. UOB experienced connectivity problems, DBS Bank posted a notice about slower email replies and directed customers to transaction notifications via its digibank app, and Maybank Singapore confirmed that all digital and physical banking services remained operational despite email delays.

Microsoft said the outage was being addressed through multiple workstreams aimed at identifying the cause of a traffic surge and repairing backend infrastructure. In a service-health update, the company stated it was taking a measured approach to confirm repairs and monitor server recovery, and added that there was no evidence of malicious activity. Full details are expected in a post-incident report.