Ecobank, one of Africa’s leading pan-African banks, has informed its customers of a scheduled system maintenance plan.

The bank said that exercise will temporarily affect access to its digital platforms, including the mobile app and online banking services.

In a statement seen by Legit.ng, Ecobank explained that the planned system upgrade will take place on Thursday, August 7, 2025, from 11:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. on Friday, August 8, 2025. The bank advised customers to complete important transactions ahead of the one-hour window to avoid disruptions.

Ecobank stated: “Dear Valued Customer, please be informed that a scheduled system maintenance will take place from 11:00 p.m. on Thursday, 7th August 2025 to 12:00 a.m. on Friday, 8th August 2025.

"During this period, you may experience brief interruptions when accessing Ecobank Online, Ecobank Mobile App, and OmniLite.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and assure you that affected services will be restored within the hour.”

The bank further encouraged customers who require urgent assistance during the downtime to reach out via live chat on its website, email (assist@ecobank.com), or contact the 24/7 call centre at 0700 500 0000.

Recently, Legit.ng reported on similar upgrades by other commercial banks, including Access Bank, which has embarked on several system enhancements in recent months.

While these disruptions may cause temporary inconvenience, banks insist they are necessary to improve service delivery and maintain the integrity of digital platforms.

Fraud case rises

The system maintenance carried out comes at a time when there is an increase in fraudulent activities.

Nigerian banks reported a startling N52.26 billion loss to fraud in 2024.

According to the most recent report from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the banking industry is still seriously threatened by fraudulent activities such as insider collusion, account manipulation, and identity theft.

However, NIBSS and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were able to effectively recover N1.74 billion to stop these illegal actions and reclaim stolen cash.

Fraudsters Attack Nigerian Banks

In a similar report, the Fraud Risk Report from the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) has shown that between the first and third quarters of this year, Nigeria had a 50% increase in financial losses connected to fraud and a 100% increase in digital fraud incidences.

The survey claims that fraud instances have increased on all platforms and that the risks are further increased by the growth of digital transactions.

The increasing sophistication of identity theft, insider cooperation, and cyber fraud took a serious toll on Nigerian financial institutions.