What was meant to be a weekend upgrade has spiraled into a technology nightmare for one of Ghana’s notable banks.
On April 16th at 5:31 p.m., CalBank customers across Ghana received an SMS notification from the bank announcing a scheduled system upgrade.
The message stated that the upgrade would begin at 9 p.m. on Friday, April 25th, and conclude by 7 a.m. on Sunday, April 27th.
Customers were advised to expect intermittent downtimes, a standard warning for such types of maintenance.
But what followed has been anything but standard.
The first strange sign came during the upgrade period itself: Some customers received birthday wishes from the bank unprompted and erroneously.
Then, on Sunday, 27th April at 12:42 p.m., the bank issued a public statement announcing that the upgrade was complete.
But for customers, the trouble had just begun.
Why Can’t Customers Access Their Own Money?
Since the announcement, customers have taken to social media to air their grievances. From not being able to log into the CalBank app to missing funds and failed ATM withdrawals, frustration is growing.
“I have zero cash,” said Khadijah Mohammed, a customer based in Accra. “My money is locked up in my CalBank account. I almost got beat by the rain because I couldn’t afford an Uber or taxi. I resorted to trotro. I don’t know how I’ll survive next week.”
Numerous users report GH¢50 deductions from their accounts with no explanation. Others say they attempted ATM withdrawals, only for their accounts to be debited without receiving any cash.
For those with Mobile Money (MoMo) integrations, money transferred to mobile wallets simply vanishes from the CalBank side—no credit reflects on MoMo, yet the bank balance drops.
Pearl Siale, another affected customer, is grappling with both personal and corporate disruptions.
“It’s also the account of the company I work with. We’re in the middle of a project where vendors need to be paid. Since last week we’ve barely managed to send payments and just yesterday we got some through,” she explained.
“I use CalBank personally too and haven’t been able to access my funds. Some money was sent to me from our company account to be used for funeral donations for a colleague.”
Her ordeal at the ATM mirrors many others.
“This morning I tried the ATM several times. Each time I reduced the amount to see if that was the issue. Out of about 10 attempts, one finally worked. I managed to get 1,000 cedis.
But every other attempt failed with the same message unable to complete.’ I had to give up because I was running late.”
Where’s the Customer Support?
Customers’ attempts to reach CalBank through its official toll-free number (0800 500 500) have gone unanswered.
Emails yield no replies, and automated messages flood the bank’s social media comment sections, leaving users in the dark.
At CalBank’s Kasoa branch, a customer, Abdul Raheem recounts a harrowing experience attempting to withdraw funds before Easter Friday.
“I did 5,000 GHC at the ATM. That amount was deducted, but then the money didn’t come out. I tried 3,000 GHC, same issue, and tried 8,000 GHC,” he said.
Despite showing transaction notifications to staff, he claims the bank repeatedly insisted they “can’t find the transaction.”
Frustrated by the lack of accountability, he added, “Does my money just go away like that?” Since then, he has made daily visits to the branch, only to be met with the same response: “They are not ready to even do anything about it.”
He also noted that “every time I go, I see a lot of people over there,” suggesting the problem is widespread.
ATM, MoMo, and Transfers All Broken
The bank’s core digital services, which include CalBank App, internet banking, and USSD services, remain non-functional.
ATM withdrawals are hit-or-miss. Transfers to mobile money vanish without crediting recipients, yet customers’ accounts are debited.
One of the most common complaints is the mysterious deduction of GH¢50 from accounts without transaction alerts or explanations.
“They should have probably isolated all the three, tested them individually, made sure they were good to go before they released. And if those things failed, they could have just reverted.”
Software engineer and CalBank user describing CalBank’s outage as a failure in disaster recovery planning
A Failure in Discovery Recovery Planning?
This debacle comes just weeks after MTN Ghana suffered a cybersecurity breach. While there’s no confirmed connection between the two incidents, the coincidence underscores a critical point: Ghana’s digital financial infrastructure is vulnerable, under-tested, and lacks adequate crisis protocols.
A fintech software engineer and CalBank user described the outage as a failure in disaster recovery planning, an essential standard in digital banking.
“In the very least, a disaster recovery plan should have been activated to get users on their feet while they try to sort out other issues,” he said.
He emphasized that the app, USSD, and web portal should each have had independent fallback systems.
“They should have probably isolated all the three, tested them individually, made sure they were good to go before they released. And if those things failed, they could have just reverted.”
His remarks underscore broader concerns about whether the migration was properly managed and whether contingency systems were ever in place.
CalBank has since administered a public apology via its official social media platforms, assuring customers that the bank’s technical team is working tirelessly to restore full functionality across all digital channels.
The apology reiterates the institution’s awareness of the ongoing inconvenience and promises continued updates as progress is made.
CalBank was contacted for additional comments regarding the ongoing disruptions, and they replied saying, “We acknowledge the recent service disruption that affected our digital banking platform and we sincerely regret any inconvenience caused to our clients.
Please be informed that our clients can use our ATMs, Mobile banking (*771#) and Internet banking (CalNet). Our technical team has been working diligently to resolve the issue and significant progress has been made toward full restoration of services on the CalBank App.
We will continue to keep our customers updated on new developments. Thank you.”
Is Trust in Digital Finance at Risk?
The CalBank crisis is not just a systems failure but a rupture of public trust. In a country transitioning toward cashless, digital-first banking, users now face a dilemma: risk digital convenience or retreat to traditional banking?
With no transparent updates, no timeline for resolution, and escalating panic, the silence from CalBank may prove costlier than the outage itself.
Update: On Sunday, 4th May 2025, there were some online reports that the Cal Bank mobile app was functional
