Access, Zenith, UBA, Others Send Messages on Transaction Alternatives as Service Disruption Hits

• Nigerian Banks have sent messages to customers over slow transactions caused by internet outages
• The outage is reportedly due to an undersea cable that cut in Ghana and disrupted internet across West Africa
• The banks asked their customers to use the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) as an alternative for transaction

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.

Nigerian banks have been severely affected by the damaged submarine cables in Ghana, causing internet outages in parts of West Africa.

The damaged cables, which happened on Thursday, March 14, 2024, affected subsea cable providers and disrupted internet traffic in most parts of Africa.

Undersea cable disrupts internet access

Reports say the damage affected major undersea cables near Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire, also affecting submarine communications cables, including the West Africa Cable System (WACS), the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), MainOne, and SAT3.

Read also

Internet outage: Fresh update emerges over ongoing undersea cable repair

The issue has caused severe downtime across West and Southern African countries, affecting telecom networks and banks in Nigeria.

Banks confirm outages

Sterling Bank, in a message to customers on Thursday, March 14, 2024, apologized for the effect of the network disruption affecting transactions.

The bank said:

“We are aware that you may be experiencing difficulties trying to transfer funds, reach our customer care team, or transact via USSD, and we genuinely apologize for the effect of this on your day.

“We are fully committed to providing the best service and are working tirelessly to resolve this issue. You have our promise to notify you as soon as it has been fixed.”

The bank and other commercial banks in Nigeria asked customers to use the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) to carry out transactions until complete services are restored.

Read also

MTN, others send updates as Nigerians, banks suffer internet disruptions

According to reports, Rasheed Bolarinwa, President of the Association of Corporate Affairs Manager of Banks (ACAMB), confirmed the situation, stating that it impacted connectivity across significant banks in Nigeria.

MTN service affected

Bolarinwa reportedly said that all commercial banks were hugely affected for most of the day.

TheCable reports that the MTN Group also announced that the damaged undersea cable has disrupted its services in several West African countries.

MTN said in a notice on Thursday, March 14, 2024, that the ongoing disconnection experienced by subscribers is due to breaks in multiple undersea cables.

Banks send messages on network issues

Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigerian banks issued notices to their customers regarding delayed transactions on their digital platforms on Thursday, March 14, 2024.

In a separate message, the banks explained that the interruptions resulted from undersea cable damage, which affected Internet service.

Read also

Nigeria, other African nations suffer internet outage due to undersea cable damage

They noted that the damage impacted internet service in Nigeria and neighboring countries along the West African coast.

Source: Legit.ng