Some commercial banks affected by the underwater cable damage are advising their customers to use alternative channels, while mobile app and online banking services remain unavailable for the second day in a row.
Specifically, in a statement to its customers on Friday, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) asked them to conduct their transactions through its ATMs and POS channels. According to the bank, the internet disruption has impacted all of its electronic transaction channels, including mobile apps.
In a similar statement to its customers, Zenith Bank acknowledged difficulties with its Internet Banking Platform and Mobile Banking App.
It is crucial to note, however, that not all banks are affected by the undersea cable damage, as some rely on connectivity providers that were unaffected by the interruption.
While apologising for the service disruptions that started on Thursday, FCMB in its message to its customers said:
“We understand that you are still experiencing service unavailability on *329#, FCMB Mobile, Internet Banking (Personal & Business), and our Agent Banking platform (Interbank Transfers).
“The resolution of the technical issue from one of our network partners is still in progress. We are actively working hard with our partner to resolve this issue.
“In the meantime, our branches and alternative channels (FCMB ATMs & POS) are available for you to carry out your transactions.”
“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this has caused and will update you as soon as the channels become available for your use.”
On its part, Zenith Bank said it is currently working with its internet service provider to reroute its traffic through alternative routers.
“Please be informed that we are experiencing service disruptions due to internet outage as a result of the submarine communication cable cut, that is affecting countries along the West African coast.
“You may therefore experience some challenges performing transactions with our Internet Banking Platform and Mobile Banking App.
“We are currently working with our internet service providers to reroute traffic through alternative routes and resolve the situation as soon as possible,” the bank stated.
Damaged cables undergoing repair
According to a statement from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) the operators of damaged international undersea cables that have caused Internet service disruption in Nigeria and other countries, have begun repair works and are gradually restoring services.
Providing background to the service disruption that has led to poor data service for millions of internet users in the country, the Commission explained that a the disruption was caused by a combination of cable cuts, resulting in equipment faults on the major undersea cables along the West African Coast.
“The cuts occurred somewhere in Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal, with an attendant disruption in Portugal.
“Cable companies – West African Cable System (WACS) and African Coast to Europe (ACE) in the West Coast route from Europe have experienced faults while SAT3 and MainOne have downtime,” it stated.
According to the Commission, similar undersea cables providing traffic from Europe to the East Coast of Africa, like Seacom, Europe India Gateway (EIG), Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE1), are said to have been cut at some point around the Red Sea, resulting in degradation of services across on these routes.
The Commission, however, noted that NCC that the cable operators had promised to work round the clock to ensure that services are restored to the affected countries within the shortest possible time.