Absa clients have complained that they faced strange language choices when using certain newly-rebranded Absa ATMs.

When using an Absa ATM, the users were given the following language choices: English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Mandarin Chinese.

Afrikaans clients took to social media to complain about the lack of their home language, blaming Absa for poor customer service.

Absa’s head of physical channels Tshiwela Mhlantla responded, saying a system error caused the Afrikaans option to disappear.

She said the bug crept in when clients of other banks used certain Absa ATMs and tried to use the platform in Afrikaans.

The six world languages are provided to international visitors when an international card is used at their ATMs, she added.

Mhlantla said the problem has been fixed, and that the Afrikaans option now appears when a South African bank card is used at these ATMs.