Commercial banks are experiencing worse downtime and are excluding depositors. USSD services provided by operators have been inactive for days. An ex-CEO of the CBN orders the CBN to comply with a Supreme Court order.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has not formally issued a directive to deposit money banks (DMBs) a week after the Supreme Court issued its final decision in the lawsuit regarding the old banknotes and extended their validity to December 31. This has caused confusion regarding the status of the contentious N500 and N1,000 notes

Due to the silence, various banks have taken discretionary positions, which has caused widespread confusion among depositors. Even though many banks have some older notes in their vaults, few of them actually get the same currencies from customers who are willing to deposit them. The financial institutions' double standards are preventing the old notes from being exchanged because traders also refuse to accept them.

Some banks that are prepared to accept the disputed notes require clients to fill out the CBN's cash swap form, suggesting that their accounts won't be credited right away. In the worst case scenario, clients are obliquely instructed to make deposits at the banks where the notes were issued.

The difficulties brought about have increased the number of merchants who reject the old notes. The majority of Lagos' traders had joined the rejection list as of yesterday. Only a select few will receive, but at a cost. However, the concern over a cash shortage does not end with the rejection of old notes. Some banks' electronic payment channels have experienced significant downtime over the past three days. Customers are concerned that their accounts have been closed, which is aggravating the effects of the naira redesign policy.

People in need also have banking halls as an option. Unfortunately, the majority of banking halls are either packed or closed to customers. A check by The Guardian yesterday revealed that some customers had waited at bank locations for hours to speak with officials to assist with funds transfers or report failed transactions, but were turned away by security staff who claimed the bank halls were overcrowded.

To lessen the increasing "irritations" from customers, many branches stay open late and close as early as 2:00 or 3:00. However, experts and clients claim that the abrupt abandonment of the age-old marketing axiom "customer is king" will not boost client confidence. Yes, optimism is waning. A customer at an antiquated bank in Lagos told news men that given the choice, he would rather shun the risk and keep his money at home.

"I rely on my wife for two days. If the only issue is money, I can solve it on my own. However, it has been impossible to transfer money between my two banks. I need to pay my bills, and I have the funds to do so, but I am unable to access my accounts. What is more awful than that? The client bemoaned. Since Tuesday, bank customers have taken to social media to complain about inactive USSDs and sluggish or frozen bank mobile applications.