One of the tier-1 lenders in Nigeria, First Bank, has announced that it will transition to a new cloud-based procurement and financial platform as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance operational efficiency and service delivery.
In a notice sent to its vendors and suppliers seen by Nairametrics, the Bank said the transition billed to start on Saturday, October 26, would cause some service disruptions, hence, the vendors were being notified ahead.
The bank has, however, not issued any notice to its depositor customers as of the time of filling this report.
This is coming amidst disruptions in the services of two other tier-1 banks, Zenith and GTBank as a result of their recent transition to new core banking platforms.
What First Bank is saying
In the notice sent on Wednesday, the Bank wrote:
“As part of the Bank’s continuous investments to improve operational efficiencies and service experience, we will be transitioning from our current Procurement and Financial Platforms to a new Cloud-based Platform that provides additional capabilities and benefits.
“During the cut-over period, certain activities and transactions will need to be suspended to aid housecleaning and safe migration of transactions with minimal disruption.
“The cut-over period will be from Saturday, October 26, 2024, to Sunday, November 3, 2024, while the new Cloud-based solution will be live on Monday, November 4, 2024, and normal activities will resume.”
Services to be impacted
The Bank noted that during the transition period, vendors would be unable to submit invoices on the bank’s current Electronic Business Suite (EBS).
- It said payments during this period will only be processed if invoices are submitted for received POs by Friday, October 25, 2024.
- While noting that its current supplier portal will no longer be in use effective November 4, the Bank said subsequent communication on the details of the new Supplier Portal and a job card will be provided before Go-live on Monday November 4, 2024.
“Kindly note to take proactive steps as indicated above to avoid business disruption during this critical period. Further details regarding onboarding, training and user guides will be communicated before the end of the week,” the Bank stated.
What you should know
While the Bank’s message was focused on the suppliers and vendors side of the transition, it is unclear yet how this will impact its depositor customers.
Nairametrics reached out to the Head of Media Relations at the Bank, Mr. Ismail Omamegbe for comments on this development. He, however, did not respond to text messages sent to him, even though he opted for text after a call.
Similar transitions by Sterling, Zenith, and GTBank have left many bank customers in frustration as many found it difficult to carry out transactions.
As of Monday, some customers of the banks were still having difficulty accessing their money even weeks after the banks said the transition process had been completed.
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