Banks to close early on Friday, direct customers to digital channel

Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and other financial institutions have notified customers about their early closure on Friday following the upcoming New Year celebration.

With the notification, customers now have between 8 am and 1pm or 3pm, depending on the bank, to do their transactions, as opposed to between 8 am and 4 pm.

Consequently, the banks have directed their customers to use alternative channels for their transactions during the period.

Various electronic banking channels are available to customers, including Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of Sales (PoS), mobile banking, and Internet banking, among others.

Some financial institutions that have sent out notices on the early closure include GTBank, and First Bank of Nigeria, among others.

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“Kindly be informed that our branches nationwide will close to customers at 1pm on Friday, 29 December 2023. Please be assured that you can still bank with us through our alternative channels,” First Bank said.

“Our branches nationwide will close to customers early on Friday, December 29, 2023. Kindly note the early closure time below: upcoming branches will close at 2pm and Lagos branches at 3pm.

“We encourage you to take advantage of our secure, convenient and always-on alternative channels for your banking needs, GTBank stated.

The Central Bank of Nigeria in December 2011 introduced the cashless policy, which aims to curb some of the negative consequences associated with the high usage of physical cash in the economy, including high cost of cash, high risk of using cash, high subsidy, informal economy, inefficiency and corruption.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.