Ethiopia’s Commercial Bank says mobile, internet, and card services will be unavailable early Sunday for system upgrades, with CBE Birr transactions unaffected.
A window of disruption is set to affect multiple digital banking services at Ethiopia’s Commercial Bank early Sunday.
The bank announced that services tied to mobile banking, internet banking, POS, and ATM functions, along with features provided through third-party collaborations, will not be available during a scheduled period.. Misryoum reports that the affected services are expected to be down between 3:00 a.m.. and 4:30 a.m.
While the digital channels will be interrupted, the bank said CBE Birr transactions will not be impacted.
Misryoum understands the bank attributed the temporary stoppage to “system upgrades,” and urged customers to plan accordingly before the downtime begins.
The Commercial Bank, described as Ethiopia’s largest state-owned lender, operates through roughly 2,000 branches. In its statement, it focused specifically on the time-bound nature of the disruption rather than any broader service change.
Insight: Even short maintenance windows can be felt across everyday payments, especially for customers who rely on mobile or point-of-sale access during early hours.
The announcement comes after previous episodes that were linked to technical problems reported in different periods.. In March 2024, Misryoum notes that a large number of transactions were associated with what was described at the time as a “glitch” during system improvements, and later reporting pointed to additional incidents.
In May 2025, Misryoum recalls that there were also reports involving an illegal transfer amounting to over 7.7 billion birr.
Insight: For banks, the recurring theme is trust. Clear scheduling and transparency about downtime can help customers prepare, but repeated technical concerns keep the spotlight on system reliability.
Ahead of the early Sunday window, the bank’s message to customers is straightforward: use available channels and complete needed steps before services go offline for the upgrade period.