Customers of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) on Friday expressed frustration about the use of the bank’s mobile app amid disruption in the bank’s digital operations.
The development came against the background of an app update which was expected to bring improvements and new features to the bank’s mobile transactions but resulted in login issues and related difficulties for customers.
The bank had on Tuesday informed its customers via text and email messages that its app would be automatically updated to the new version on 12 July.
“On the 12 July, we will release the new and updated version of the GTWorld Mobile Banking App to Play Store and App Store. This means that when you launch the GTWorld Mobile Banking App, you will see a newly designed interface if you have App Updates set on automatic.
“However, if App Update is not set to automatic on your mobile device, you will need to manually update your GTWorld Mobile App to experience the newly designed app. Please note that we will discontinue support of the current version of the GTWorld App on 12 August,” the message read.
However, since Thursday, GTBank customers have faced challenges with the app updates, as many customers said that they were not adequately informed about the need to enable auto-updates for the app.
One customer, Deji Elifisan, expressed disappointment with the entire process.
He wrote: “I think they should have emphasised the fact that we must have our GT app on auto-update to avoid this problem many are facing. I read it in the messages they sent to put the app on auto-update to avoid this.”
PREMIUM TIMES observed that the challenges varied among customers, but they shared the common experience of being unable to access their accounts on the app.
Some users reported that the app froze after entering their phone number, preventing them from proceeding any further. Others said they were locked out of their accounts after multiple unsuccessful attempts to log in.
At the height of the frustration, some customers decided to delete the app in hopes of resolving the login issues, only to realise that both the new and old versions of the app were missing from the App Store.
Many have since been unable to access banking services, PREMIUM TIMES’ learnt from multiple interviews with customers.
“I even deleted it, now I can’t find both the new and old app on the App Store,” one customer, Oluwadamilare, said.
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Another individual, Azyzah, expressed frustration by stating, “Am completely stuck, only God knows how many times I’ve clicked proceed after inputting my phone number. God! Nothing is proceeding. And I hardly do this update thing, but woke up to it, guess there is an automatic update set somewhere on my phone. It’s really frustrating right now.”
Olukotun Gideon, a customer, wrote: “I came to Twitter for this. I just saw my app icon change and decided to log in… Tried repeatedly till I was locked out. One hour after, I retried and it went worse. Then I uninstalled and decided to install… Unfortunately, it’s no longer on App Store. GTB… Let us breathe.”
Despite the widespread outcry from GTBank customers, the bank is yet to fix the challenge.
Multiple telephone calls and text messages sent to the bank’s spokesperson, Charles Eremi, were not responded to as of press time Saturday afternoon.
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