Leading Nigerian commercial bank, Access Bank, has announced that it would shut down its services from Saturday, October 12. The bank said this in an email sent to its customers on Tuesday, October 7, 2024, The bank said the shutting down of its services will be for the purpose of carrying out a systems upgrade.
According to the bank, the system upgrade which will run from Saturday, October 12 by 10 pm till the early hours of Sunday, October 13, 6:30 am is aimed at strengthening the optimization of its service delivery to customers.
The bank noted that during the period of the system upgrade, its USSD code – *901# – will be available for transactions ranging from funds transfer, bill payments as well as airtime and data purchase. It again assured customers of a guaranteed full restoration as soon as the upgrade is completed.
What Access Bank is saying
Expressing the disruptions that will be caused during the system upgrade period, the bank highlighted that customers may experience disruptions on the Access Bank app, ATMs and the Internet Banking platform.
In a press release made available via the Bank’s X handle, the importance of the system upgrade was stressed. “Dear Valued Customer, in line with our continuous drive to better serve you, we embarked on a comprehensive system upgrade to optimize the functionality of our systems.”
“The upgrade exercise, which will take place in phases, starts on Saturday, October 12 at 10 pm to Sunday, October 13, 2024 at 6:30 am (West African Time). Upon completion of this exercise, service across all channels will be fully restored.”
System upgrade
Bank System Upgrade is basically an essential banking system model which is aimed at improving productivity through the introduction of new features and streamlined workflows. Banks embark on this process in order to provide better banking services to their customers.
Aside from enhancing an improved customer experience, banks also have better operational efficiency and stand a chance to overpower their market competitors.
What Access Bank customers can do
Following the announcement made by Access Bank, customers are encouraged to take necessary precautions so as to prevent inconveniences. As part of this, customers can adjust their schedule to make necessary transactions outside the system upgrading schedule.
To be on the safer side, it is advised that all forms of transactions should not be made within 3 hours of the system upgrade starting time and the same duration after. Also, other alternative bank services and fintech mediums can be explored during this period.
In extreme situations that warrant emergency transactions that fall within the period of the system upgrade, the USSD code can be explored.
See also: Access Bank acquires National Bank of Kenya as part of East African expansion drive