GTBank Secures Court Order to Recover ₦1.9 Billion Mistakenly Credited to Customer Accounts

By Salim Abubakar
January 3, 2025

Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), one of Nigeria’s leading tier-1 banks with a market valuation of ₦1.68 trillion, has obtained a court order to recover ₦1.9 billion erroneously credited to customer accounts in late October 2024. The duplicate transactions occurred during the processing of unapplied NIP (NIBSS Instant Payment) inflows between October 28 and 29, 2024.

Error Discovery and Legal Action

An internal investigation by GTBank revealed that some of the mistakenly credited funds had already been transferred to other banks. To address this, GTBank sought a court injunction to freeze accounts that received duplicate funds.

Justice F.N. Ogazi of the Federal High Court, Lagos, granted the order, which has since been served to the receiving banks. This paves the way for the recovery of the funds. GTBank has yet to issue an official statement on the matter.

Breakdown of Erroneous Transactions

Details	Information
Incident Date	October 28–29, 2024
Amount Mistakenly Credited	₦1.9 billion
System Migration	From Basis to Finacle
Court Order Granted By	Justice F.N. Ogazi
Receiving Banks Notified	Yes
Public Apology Issued	November 2024

Challenges with Core Banking Migration

This incident occurred shortly after GTBank transitioned its core banking system from Basis to Finacle in September 2024. The switch, designed to improve operational efficiency and enhance customer experience, was marred by significant service disruptions. Customers reported erroneous transaction alerts and unstable banking channels for weeks following the migration.

The migration challenges sparked outrage on social media platforms such as X, with customers voicing their frustrations over the bank’s perceived silence. GTBank eventually issued a public apology in November 2024.

READ ALSO: How Banks Make Money and the Top 10 Most Profitable Banks in Nigeria (2024)

While the court documents did not explicitly link the erroneous transactions to the core banking migration, experts have highlighted the increasing challenges faced by banks in transitioning to new systems. At least four Nigerian banks experienced similar disruptions in 2024, prompting a directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria mandating regulatory approval for future upgrades.

Regulatory Implications

The disruption highlights the critical need for thorough testing and planning before major system migrations in the banking sector. To mitigate future occurrences, the Central Bank of Nigeria has introduced stricter regulatory measures requiring banks to obtain approval prior to commencing core system upgrades.

This development underscores the growing pains associated with digital transformation in the financial industry and serves as a cautionary tale for other banks planning similar transitions.

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