First Bank Refutes Reports of Proposed Service Disruption

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

One of the leading financial institutions in Nigeria, First Bank, has denied reports that it was planning to upgrade its banking platform, which may result in the disruption of financial services.

It was widely circulated that from Saturday, October 26 to Sunday, November 3, 2024, customers of the bank may not be able to seamlessly carry out banking transactions because of the upgrade to a new cloud-based platform designed to “improve operational efficiencies and service experience”

The lender was quoted in the reports that, “During the cut-over period, certain activities and transactions will need to be suspended to aid housecleaning and safe migration of transactions with minimal disruption.

“The cut-over period will be from Saturday, October 26, 2024, to Sunday, November 3, 2024, while the new cloud-based solution will be live on Monday, November 4, 2024, and normal activities will resume.”

But in a statement seen by Business Post, First Bank denied planning to disrupt the financial services to its customers, clarifying that the message being quoted in the viral reports was for its suppliers.

It stressed that the system upgrade was mainly for suppliers, and not those carrying out banking transactions.

“We wish to address a misleading report circulating in the media regarding a system upgrade at First Bank.

“The message which was incorrectly interpreted and reported was sent to, and intended for our vendors only and focused on transitioning from our current I-Supplier Platform (our automated platform that connects us to suppliers) to a new cloud-based supplier platform (world-class platform for managing suppliers), to enable additional capabilities and benefits for our vendors.

“Please be informed that no system upgrade is currently underway, and all our customers’ applications are fully operational. We are not experiencing disruption to our services, and our banking systems, customer transactions, channels, etc, will not be affected by the enhanced supplier platform.

“Rest assured that our commitment to seamless service delivery remains unwavering as you continue to enjoy uninterrupted access to our services,” the note stated.

In the past weeks, some financial institutions in the country have been upgrading their banking platforms, which has caused difficulties in carrying out financial transactions.