USSD crisis worsens banks’ network challenges

By Tumininu Ojelabi Hassan

Banks customers have decried the network issues they have been experiencing when using their banks’ mobile applications for transactions since the genesis of the USSD Crisis.

Our correspondent interacted with bank customers, who complained about their inability to access the mobile bank app. As a result of the network challenge, aggrieved customers of First bank, Sterling bank and Wema bank called out these banks on social media and demanded for a swift resolution to the network challenge.

Some of the issues raised by customers of these banks were inability to log into the mobile app, failed transactions, non-reversal of failed transactions, inability to receive money, while some said their accounts were debited without the recipients’ accounts being credited for days.

Sola Adekoya, a first bank customer expressed her disappointment towards the bank’s network of recent.

“Throughout last weekend, I couldn’t access my mobile app. I couldn’t do any transaction and I didn’t receive money people sent to me until some days later. I thought I was the only one experiencing this until other customers started complaining, then I knew it was a general issue,” she bewailed.

While speaking with our correspondent, Jude Akpan, a First bank customer expressed his grievances in strong terms given his cash crisis.

“This network issue is becoming unbearable”, he said. “It is absolutely unreasonable to have money in my account and still be stranded. A few days ago, I went to a restaurant to get food, I wanted to make payment with my ATM card via a POS machine, the transaction was declined. I tried to transfer the money from my mobile app, it was unsuccessful, yet my account was debited. I had to call a friend to help me send the money to the restaurant’s account. It was extremely embarrassing. I had plans to go out later in the day but I couldn’t, the bank disrupted my plans. The bank should fix this issue, it’s tiring already,” he fumed.

First bank posted an official statement to address the network failure, ascribing it to service degradation of some its channels.

“Important Notice:

We are experiencing service degradation on some of our channels and are working with our partners to resolve all issues speedily. We apologise for the inconvenience you’re experiencing. Rest assured that the issues will be resolved shortly.

As we strive to fix the issues, please beware of fraudsters, who may attempt to solicit your bank information for fraudulent purposes. Thank you for your patience. We will provide an update shortly,” First bank stated.

Also, Sterling bank had a similar network issue last week as customers complained about failed transactions, non-reversal of these transactions, restriction of accounts and inaccessibility to the mobile app as they were logged out due to network issue. They also sent a similar message to it’s customers.

Chigozie Unogu, a Sterling bank customer, while discussing with our correspondent, revealed that his account was restricted and as a result of this he was unable to access the mobile app.

“I wanted to pay an artisan for a service he rendered, only for me to check my bank app and I realized I was logged out. I couldn’t log into the app, there was no way I could transfer money to the artisan and I couldn’t receive money as well. They ruined my plans for the weekend, I survived on the little cash with me over the weekend,” he lamented.

Adesina Micheal, a Wema bank customer, disclosed that for almost six hours on Saturday, 13th May 2023, he could not make financial transactions. “The issue started when a friend, who I was expecting money from told me he had sent the money but I didn’t receive it. According to him, he sent it on Friday, 12th May 2023 after 24 hours I hadn’t received the money. I knew the issue was from my bank and not his because I couldn’t see my account balance after struggling to log into the mobile app. I tried to purchase airtime on my mobile app but I could not. I couldn’t do anything until the next day, which was Sunday,” he said.

An IT Expert, who works in a top commercial bank, attributed the network glitch to the massive surge on the digital channels. According to him, banks need to strengthen their Information Technology (IT) infrastructure to avoid incessant network issues.

“The first thing commercial banks need to do to avoid network issues is to improve its IT and digital infrastructure. We have more customers making transactions via digital channels due to the naira scarcity and cashless policy.

“As a matter of fact, IT experts are trying their best, however, some technical issues need to be fixed coupled with the fact that the banking sector is currently facing a shortage of IT experts. This is one of the major reasons network failure and service downtime have been occurring, the IT experts available are insufficient for the workload.

“Also, some banks have weak IT infrastructure and because of this they can’t withstand the surge in online banking. If banks do not strengthen their IT infrastructure, network issues won’t stop and this is the bitter truth,” he clarified.

Recall that the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) announced the disconnection of banks’ USSD services over N120 billion debt. According to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, he directed the NCC to approve the Mobile Network Operators’, MNOs’ request for the withdrawal of all USSD services.

“In the circumstances, please note that unless the DMBs settle outstanding financial obligations to MNOs for the USSD services, I have directed the NCC to approve the MNOs request for the withdrawal of all USSD services to the indebted DMBs effective 7 pm, May 12, 2023, until the said outstanding debt is fully settled,” he stated.