Digital banking services, including card transactions, ATM withdrawals, POS payments, e-commerce, QR code payments, and National Payment Switch Bangladesh (NPSB) transfers, across 19 banks are facing temporary disruptions due to scheduled system upgrades and maintenance.

According to notices issued by the banks, the disruption stems from system migration under the Q-Cash network, which runs from 9:00 PM on October 4 until 12:00 PM on October 10.

The affected financial institutions are Bank Asia, Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Janata Bank, Bengal Commercial Bank, Community Bank, Jamuna Bank, Midland Bank, Meghna Bank, Mercantile Bank, Modhumoti Bank, National Bank, NRBC Bank, NCC Bank, Rupali Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, Shimanto Bank, Social Islami Bank, Trust Bank, and Uttara Bank.

While the service outages vary by institution—ranging from a few hours to several days—the simultaneous timing of maintenance across 19 banks has drawn widespread consumer concern, particularly over potential difficulties in obtaining cash during emergencies or completing online and card transactions.

Addressing customer concerns, Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and Spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan stated that banks routinely perform technical maintenance and system enhancements after notifying the central bank.

"Each bank made its decision independently, but coincidentally, 19 banks fell into the same timeline for system upgrades," Khan said, adding that central bank officials discussed the matter with the institutions to ensure advance notices and SMS alerts were issued to clients.

The banks assured customers that all affected services will be restored gradually upon completion of system migration and maintenance tasks, while expressing regret for the temporary inconvenience. Branch-based counter services will remain subject to individual bank guidelines.