First Bank has announced its plans to transition to a new cloud-based procurement and financial platform as part of its efforts to enhance operational efficiency and improve service delivery.
The migration, set to begin on Saturday, October 26, may cause temporary service disruptions, the tier-one bank, which serves over 42 million customers, stated in a notice issued on Wednesday.
This transition by First Bank comes in the midst of a series of disruptions within Nigeria’s banking sector, as several financial institutions are upgrading their core banking systems.
Since September, at least four major banks, including tier-one lenders like Zenith Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank, have switched their core banking applications as part of efforts to modernize and improve their services.
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.
