In an unprecedented move, technology-based banking services—including ATM booths, card transactions, and Point of Sale (POS) terminals across 30 commercial banks in Bangladesh—have been abruptly suspended for nearly six days. The widespread outage began at 9:00 PM on Sunday (October 4) and is scheduled to continue until 12:00 PM on October 10. Millions of clients across the country have been plunged into severe financial inconvenience as the shutdown was executed without any prior announcement from either the central bank or the respective financial institutions.

The affected institutions operate under the shared electronic network 'Q-Cash', maintained by Information Technology Consultants Limited (ITCL). Authorities cited emergency technical maintenance and system security enhancements as the rationale behind the sudden operational freeze. However, consumer rights advocates and financial analysts have strongly condemned the action, pointing out that shutting down critical digital payment gateways for almost a week without public notification severely damages public trust in the nation's digital financial infrastructure.

Meanwhile, sources within Bangladesh Bank revealed that the central bank was not officially notified in advance about the extent and duration of this network shutdown. With thousands of citizens unable to withdraw cash for emergency medical expenses, daily household shopping, or business transactions, public outrage continues to mount. Stakeholders are now urging regulatory authorities to intervene immediately, restore essential banking channels, and enforce strict accountability measures against service providers responsible for such sudden disruptions.