ATM, online services suspended at 30 banks making Governor angry
Representational image.
Half of the country’s banks have simultaneously started work to upgrade and maintain their technological security systems. As a result, online, ATM and card services at these banks will remain suspended for six days. Governor Mostaqur Rahman has expressed anger because the banks took the decision without informing Bangladesh Bank.
There are more than 60 banks in Bangladesh. Among them, 30 state-owned and private banks have begun system upgrades and maintenance work to enhance their technological capabilities and security.
As part of this, various technology-based online services of the banks, including card, ATM and POS services, will remain suspended from 9 p.m. on October 4 until noon on October 10.
Which Banks
Agrani Bank, Bangladesh Commerce Bank, Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Bank Asia, BASIC Bank, Bank Alfalah Bangladesh, Community Bank, First Security Islami Bank (currently under the consolidated bank), ICB Islamic Bank, IFIC Bank, Jamuna Bank, Janata Bank, Meghna Bank, Mercantile Bank, Midland Bank, Modhumoti Bank, National Bank, NCC Bank, NRB Commercial Bank, NRB Global Bank, Rupali Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, Shimanto Bank, Social Islami Bank, Sonali Bank, South Bangla Agriculture and Commerce Bank, Trust Bank, Union Bank, Uttara Bank and Woori Bank Bangladesh.
What the Banks Said
Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Trust Bank, Bank Asia, National SBAC, Modhumoti Bank and several other banks have issued notices informing customers that some services will be temporarily suspended due to system maintenance and technological upgrades. They have also sent SMS notifications to customers.
One bank said in a notice that several of its card and transaction services would remain temporarily suspended from 9 p.m. on October 4 until noon on October 10 due to system migration of the Q-Cash network.
Modhumoti Bank said all credit, debit and prepaid cards, ATMs, IBFT and QR transaction services would remain temporarily suspended under the arrangement.
The bank said the Q-Cash network is undergoing system migration to ensure improved and more secure banking services. As a result, transactions through the bank’s credit and prepaid cards will remain suspended during the scheduled period. At the same time, ATMs, cash recycling machines (CRMs) and point-of-sale (POS) services under the network will also be unavailable.
However, Modhumoti Bank said debit card transactions will remain normal. In addition, ATMs and POS services of other banks, Bangla QR, and fund transfers through Money App via Tap, bKash, Nagad and upay will remain available.
The notice also said that fund transfers to other banks that are not part of the Q-Cash network will remain normal.
Why This Step
Speaking to bank officials, it is learned that banks are placing greater emphasis on increasing the capacity and security of technological infrastructure as the use of digital transactions in the banking sector is rapidly growing.
For this reason, bankers said regular maintenance and upgrades of core banking systems, card networks and other digital platforms have now become an important part of banking operations. They said the latest measures have been taken for this reason.
Governor’s Anger
Temporarily suspending services during system upgrades or regular maintenance is not new for banks. Depending on the nature of the technological infrastructure and the scope of the work, some services may remain limited for several hours to several days. Once the work is completed within the scheduled timeframe, the services resume normal operations.
However, this time, as services at half of the country’s banks are being suspended simultaneously, a large number of customers will face inconvenience.
Speaking to reporters about the matter, Bangladesh Bank spokesperson and Executive Director Arif Hossain Khan said, “System migration of the Q-Cash network is underway to ensure safe and modern banking services. As a result, the decision to temporarily suspend some services at the 30 banks listed with ITC was taken by the banks on their own initiative.”
He said Bangladesh Bank had not been informed about the matter in advance.
Saying that the governor was angered by the issue, Arif Hossain said, “The governor of Bangladesh Bank also did not take the matter well. He considers it reprehensible that such an important decision was taken unilaterally by the banks. He was angered by the incident.”
