Joy Agwunobi
First Bank has announced plans to transition to a new cloud-based procurement and financial platform as part of its ongoing strategy to improve operational efficiency and service delivery.
The migration, scheduled to begin on Saturday, October 26, is expected to result in temporary service disruptions, the tier one lender with over 42 million customers said in a Wednesday notice.
This move comes amid a wave of recent disruptions in the Nigerian banking sector, as several financial institutions undergo upgrades to their core banking systems.
Since September, at least four major banks in the country have switched their core banking applications, including tier-1 lenders such as Zenith Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank.
Part of the notice read, “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,” the bank stated.
The lender also noted that during the transition period, vendors would be unable to submit invoices on its current Electronic Business Suite.
Payments will only be processed if invoices are submitted for received purchase orders by Friday, October 25, 2024, the lender noted.
Additionally, FirstBank stated that its current supplier portal will no longer be in use effective November 4.
The bank will provide further communication on the details of the new Supplier Portal, along with a job card, ahead of the system’s go-live date 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 explained.
