Customers of First Bank of Nigeria Limited are currently experiencing difficulties completing transactions following a temporary disruption across the bank’s major digital banking platforms.

In a notice issued on Thursday, the bank confirmed that the downtime is affecting transactions carried out on FirstMobile, FirstOnline, and its *894# USSD service.

“Please be informed that we are currently experiencing some downtime affecting transactions to other banks on FirstMobile, FirstOnline, and USSD platforms. Customers may therefore experience delayed or declined transactions,” FirstBank stated.

The lender apologized to its more than 42 million customers, assuring them that its technical team, working with service partners, is working round the clock to restore full service.

“We regret the inconveniences this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding during this time. Our team is working with our partners to restore services as quickly as possible, and we will provide updates once services are fully restored,” the statement added.

Recent Innovation and Ongoing Challenges

The disruption comes less than two months after FirstBank introduced a facial biometric authentication feature on its FirstMobile app.

The upgrade, which incorporates advanced facial recognition and anti-spoofing technology, enables customers to register and activate their devices without using a debit card. It was designed to enhance security, reduce fraud risks, and improve onboarding for diaspora clients, card-free users, and those with lost or expired cards.

Despite these innovations, Thursday’s outage highlights the increasing reliance of Nigerians on digital banking channels and the challenges banks face in ensuring uninterrupted service.