Millions of bank customers have been left facing temporary disruptions to ATM, card and digital banking services after about 30 commercial banks suspended transactions linked to the Q-Cash payment network.
The disruption followed a system migration involving Q-Cash, a shared payment network used by several banks to process electronic transactions.
Customers of affected banks experienced difficulties using services including automated teller machines (ATMs), point-of-sale (POS) terminals, debit and credit cards, as well as some digital banking channels.
The temporary suspension was scheduled to continue until noon on October 10, as financial institutions worked to complete the migration and restore normal services.
The development raised concerns among customers and businesses that depend heavily on electronic payments for everyday transactions, particularly as cashless banking has become an important part of commercial activity.
Banks reportedly advised customers to make use of alternative payment channels where available while the technical work was ongoing.
The Q-Cash migration is part of efforts to upgrade the payment infrastructure and improve the reliability and efficiency of electronic financial transactions.
Although service disruptions can create short-term inconvenience for customers, payment-network upgrades are generally aimed at strengthening the infrastructure that supports ATM withdrawals, card payments and other digital transactions.
The incident also highlights the growing dependence of businesses and consumers on interconnected payment systems.
A disruption affecting a shared network can have consequences across several financial institutions at the same time, rather than being limited to a single bank.
Customers of the affected banks are therefore expected to continue monitoring official communication from their respective financial institutions as services return to normal.
The banks involved are expected to complete the migration process and fully restore affected channels within the stated timeframe.
