Zenith Bank’s recent information technology infrastructure maintenance has left many Nigerians frustrated and unable to access their funds.
On October 1, 2024, the bank announced that it was undertaking routine maintenance of its IT infrastructure to improve the quality of its services.
“On Tuesday, October 01, 2024, our Mobile Banking App, USSD Service, Internet Banking and Corporate Internet Banking platforms will be unavailable between the hours of 12:01 am and 02:30 pm WAT,” it said.
Although the bank did not specify the exact nature of the maintenance, media reports revealed it involved migrating its core banking platform from Phoenix, a software developed by London-based Finastra, to Oracle’s Flexcube. Such a transition involves the transfer of large volumes of data and is far more complex than regular maintenance, often requiring extended timelines.
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Unfortunately, the maintenance has extended beyond the bank’s initial estimate, leaving many customers stranded and frustrated.
Tolu Makinde, an affected customer, described the scene at a Zenith Bank branch: “The banking hall was a mess today. Someone left in anger, vowing to return with cameras. They couldn’t even confirm the cheque I was trying to clear. It was chaos.”
Many Nigerians have also taken to social media platform X to vent their frustrations. One user, @tobishiyanbola, tweeted, “There’s no way on earth Zenith Bank shouldn’t be penalized for this atrocious act. I hope CBN sanctions them for this. It’s been over 3 days and one can’t access funds.”
Another, @Gbengadeoti, wrote, “I just had to come on X and confirm that Zenith Bank is trending, coz what is this mess up since yesterday. Your maintenance time has eaten into your operating time, leaving people stuck and helpless.” @mareeyama added, “I can’t blame anyone but myself for letting Zenith Bank put me through this over and over again.”
Beyond personal inconveniences, complaints have also revolved around delayed salary payments. @CuteNaija wrote, “All my workers I paid with Zenith Bank have not received salaries 48/72 hours after.”
An employee from an affected company confirmed they had been informed that their salary delay was due to the bank’s IT upgrade.
“We have had issues processing payment from our salary bankers due to the nationwide network downtime & extended routine maintenance embarked on by the bank,” an email from the company management read.
These prolonged disruptions have escalated tensions, with some customers protesting outside Zenith Bank branches due to the long delays in accessing their funds.
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In response, Zenith Bank announced via X on Thursday that significant progress had been made with the upgrade.
“We have made significant progress with the upgrade, and you can now perform transactions conveniently with the following Zenith Bank channels: Your Zenith debit card, the Zenith Bank mobile app, the Zenith Bank internet banking platform, and Zenith agents nationwide (agent banking),” the bank stated.
However, customers are still lamenting that these channels are not working. The importance of IT infrastructure in today’s banking industry cannot be overstated, as most transactions are now conducted electronically. In 2023, six commercial banks increased their IT spending by 44.66 percent to N205.34 billion as more customers shifted toward electronic transactions. Zenith Bank alone spent N33.59 billion on IT in 2023 and earned N51.82 billion from electronic banking.
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