Customers of Zenith Bank have voiced their displeasure across social media, highlighting significant disruptions to their online banking services. Many reported difficulties with transactions and payment features, coinciding with a scheduled maintenance period that stretched from September 29 to October 1.

Zenith Bank had notified its customers on Saturday via X (formerly Twitter), announcing that routine maintenance would commence at 12:01 AM on September 29 and conclude by 5:00 AM on October 1. The message, titled “Notice of Routine Maintenance,” aimed to improve service quality, specifically mentioning that mobile banking apps, USSD, internet banking, and corporate platforms would be unavailable from 12:01 AM to 2:30 PM WAT on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.

Despite this prior notice, customers expressed frustration as the maintenance reportedly did not begin until Tuesday, disrupting critical transactions. Olaniyi Oludare, one of the affected customers, shared his struggles, explaining that he was unable to withdraw funds for food and transportation, leaving him to borrow money from colleagues. “I expected the maintenance to start on Monday as announced, but it didn’t happen. I’ve gone all day without food because I couldn’t access my account,” Oludare explained.

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Another customer, Adeleye A.P., took to X to criticize the bank’s timing, pointing out that scheduling maintenance during the day, especially at the end of the month when many receive their salaries, was poor planning. He tweeted, “Why disable transfers on the last day of the month? It’s a terrible strategy that only keeps money in the bank’s hands.”

The online backlash continued as users questioned why the bank didn’t carry out maintenance at night. Dave Oriss, tweeting as #orissonline, remarked, “Zenith Bank, you’re frustrating customers who have emergencies, yet you keep pushing back the maintenance time.” Other users echoed similar frustrations, urging the bank to resolve network issues quickly, especially for customers facing urgent financial needs.

In response to the complaints, Zenith Bank released another update on X, stating that maintenance was in progress and would end by 2:30 PM on Tuesday. The bank reassured customers that steps had been taken to minimize service disruptions. However, social media users continued to express dissatisfaction with the timing and handling of the maintenance, calling for future efforts to be carried out during less critical hours.