Sonali Bank to suspend all digital transactions for 48-hour

Sonali Bank will suspend all financial transactions, including ATM, card and digital banking services, for nearly 48 hours from midnight on Wednesday to facilitate an upgrade of its core banking system (CBS).

The Bangladesh Bank has approved the temporary suspension from 12:00am on October 15 until 11:59PM on October 17, according to a circular issued by the central bank on Wednesday. The approval came in response to an application from Sonali Bank.

During the scheduled maintenance period, the bank’s online banking, ATM booths, card services and digital banking platforms will remain unavailable, preventing customers from carrying out transactions through these channels.

However, if the system upgrade is completed smoothly, Sonali Bank may resume normal banking operations and transactions at its branches on Saturday, October 17.

The Bangladesh Bank has also instructed all commercial banks to maintain normal banking transactions on Saturday, despite the weekly holiday, to meet special requirements.

Earlier, Exim Bank and Standard Bank, now known as Standard Islami Bank, received approval to suspend banking services and digital transactions for 84 hours to upgrade their core banking software.

The two banks are scheduled to halt all transactions and banking operations from midnight on October 20 until 11:59AM on October 23.