Sterling Bank Customers’ Funds Trapped, As They’re Unable to Make Withdrawals For Days

Customers of Sterling Bank are groaning as they are unable to withdraw funds from their accounts leading to a near chaotic situation as of Monday.

At the time of filing this report, ENigeria Newspaper observed that the Abubakar Suleiman-led Sterling Bank appeared to be so overwhelmed by the situation that it swiftly locked the comment section of most of its social media accounts where aggrieved customers could vent their frustrations.

Although Sterling Bank had earlier boasted that their Indigenous core banking solution called SeaBaaS was revolutionary as it would change the face of banking in the country, ENigeria Newspaper can authoritatively report that several customers are unhappy. Some of them who spoke to us say, “Sterling is multiplying our hardship by not allowing us access to our funds even in the face of current economic woes bedeviling the country”.

The above development came to the fore after some customers were unable to access their funds following the bank’s migrating to the SeaBaaS solution, which it said leverages advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence.

The system, according to the bank, promised to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency, providing smarter, faster financial services, but the current reality appears to be far from the much-publicized expectation.

Sterling Bank CEO, Abubakar Suleiman acknowledged the challenges faced during the implementation of SeaBaas, stating that implementation issues had been resolved, with the lender’s full bouquet of digital banking services being restored in phases for customers’ use.

According to him, “This successful deployment reminds us that nothing truly valuable comes without challenges. While this transition has tested our systems and patience, it also reinforced our commitment to innovation and excellence. We enter this new phase confident that the migration will deliver unmatched efficiency and transformative customer experiences.”

Abubakar also pointed out the financial implications of the migration, noting that African banks collectively spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on foreign core banking systems, which exacerbates the continent’s trade balance issues.

Despite the promises of restoring service, many customers of the bank are still in anguish, uncertain about when they will be allowed access to their funds.