Access Bank cuts operating hours amid rising cost of diesel

Access Bank has announced it is cutting operating hours amid the rising cost of diesel and low power supply.

The bank in a notification sent to its customers entitled ‘Adjusted Closing Time for Select Branches’, said: “To its esteemed customers containing the list of the branches and the states where they operate, Access bank urged its customers to consider processing most of their transactions via its digital channels.

“You can simply process most of your transactions via our digital channels, as a few of our Access Bank branches nationwide will be closed at 3 pm from the 29th of August, 2022,” Access Bank stated.

According to the bank, while some of its branches will continue to operate between 8am and 4pm, its electronic channels would be open to customers’ 24hours every day.

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Though Access Bank did not state the reasons behind the adjustment of its operating hours, however, this might not be unconnected to the bank’s move to cut operating costs.

While Access Bank has yet to release its second quarter of 2022 result, a look at its unaudited first quarter result shows that the bank’s operating expenses rose by 23.63 per cent to N77.26 billion from N62.49 billion.

It will be recalled that most banks had begun cutting short their operating hours due to the high cost of operation occasioned by the soaring price of diesel which has so far risen above N800 per litre.

GTCO, FirstBank and some others took such measures early in the year, adjusting their operating hours in response to the energy crisis.