The "Bankak" crisis opens the door to alternatives.. Will additional services succeed in saving the Bank of Khartoum?

Amsterdam: Friday, October 9, 2026: Radio Dabanga Report: Suliman Seri. The instability of the "Bankak" application service belonging to the Bank of Khartoum, and its outages for several days at different intervals, have sparked a wave of widespread dissatisfaction among customers. This has affected the bank's reputation and perhaps pushed some to look for alternatives, given the presence of similar services from other banks, such as "Fawry" (Bank of Khartoum's rival service) belonging to Faisal Islamic Bank, "O-Cash" belonging to Omdurman National Bank, and the "Sahal" application service belonging to Al-Nile Bank (formerly the Islamic Development Bank). However, these do not reach the level of competing with the Bank of Khartoum, as it is the only bank that dominates the banking transfer service market. The Bank of Khartoum has made intensive attempts to regain the trust of customers it almost lost due to the poor service, as it urgently announced the launch of a digital banking transfer service via a USSD code dedicated to its customers, which allows banking transactions without the need for a smartphone or an internet connection. The bank explained in posts broadcast via social media that the launch of this service comes in commitment to what it promised its customers, and within the framework of efforts aimed at easing the pressure on the "Bankak" application, in addition to expanding digital payment options and facilitating banking transactions. The bank indicated that it will gradually proceed to launch more banking services through this technology. The new service is available by dialing the code *1913# for MTN subscribers, and requires quick registration steps including dialing the code, entering the Customer Information File (CIF) number, and agreeing to the terms, to provide a secure and easy financial transfer experience. Crowd Demand: Information technology and software expert Engineer Ammar Hamouda confirmed that there are real reasons for the service's fluctuation, represented by the high crowd demand for the service and poor network quality—which, of course, are networks belonging to telecommunications companies and outside the banks' management—which complicates matters further. Moreover, the poor network itself is caused by heavy loading due to users trying multiple times, which doubles the pressure on the application. In an interview with "Radio Dabanga," he pointed out that there could be reasons caused by human intervention, intended, for example, to limit the available service to reduce commercial exchange operations, especially when people fall into a state of panic due to rising dollar prices, or if they have a desire to buy a certain commodity and know that its price will increase tomorrow; so instead of postponing the purchase until tomorrow, it is better to buy it now. Hamouda explained that there are funds whose owners want to buy foreign currency, and here a kind of control occurs to disrupt this high movement. He believed it is beneficial for the economy to stop these practices so as not to increase the cycle of panic and exacerbate the situation. He pointed out that there are other applications besides the "Bankak" application belonging to the Bank of Khartoum, such as "Fawry" belonging to Faisal Islamic Bank, and "O-Cash" belonging to Omdurman National Bank, and that other banks have their own applications. Hamouda said: "But in all honesty, there is a dominance by the Bank of Khartoum over these banking services in terms of the number of users, and there are estimates saying it dominates 80 to 85% of the user base. This is a very high percentage that confirms there is no way to compare with any other applications given the large difference." He considered that the stability of those applications cannot be evidence of competition with the Bank of Khartoum application, and therefore, comparing them—that this application stopped and that one did not, and so on—contains a very large difference in the volume of transactions and users. Additional Services: Information technology and software expert Engineer Ammar Hamouda pointed out that the additional digital services announced by the Bank of Khartoum, which are banking services, represent a good addition, especially for those who do not have internet service or who do not own smartphones. He continued: "For example, iBook offers the ability to use the regular internet and a regular browser to access your bank account and perform your financial transactions." He added: "This, of course, takes a path other than the one for the application and thus reduces the pressure on the application, and it is simply what is called Internet Banking via any internet browser." The IT expert explained that the other service called USSD means Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, and this is very simply the service that users have known for a long time by entering a specific code to obtain the requested service. He said that the advantage of this service is that it goes directly to the banks' servers through an agreement between telecommunications companies and the bank, and provides a new and shortened path to access banking services that bypasses the need for the internet or a smartphone containing an application. Hamouda added: "The subscriber sends a message by pressing the number 334 if, for example, you want to transfer money to another account. After you press it, you receive a message saying, for example: Select the user type inside the bank or outside the bank, meaning it gives you a list of options and you choose from them and follow the steps until you finish the task." Service without Internet or Smartphone: Information technology and software expert Engineer Ammar Hamouda noted that the most important thing about this service is that sending text messages does not require the internet, while having the slightest connection to the mobile network makes it work. The most important thing about it—as I mentioned—for users who do not have mobiles or smartphones, or those who carry old models (like a 3310 mobile or regular phones that do not have touch screens or are not considered smartphones), is that it offers a new path and represents an addition to the services. In the interview with "Radio Dabanga," he believed that the service via SMS, which does not need internet service or a smartphone, contains a kind of solution for the problem of those who move during the war and fear that their phones will be stolen, even if they carry a simple phone that does not have high material value but they use it to perform financial tasks or fulfill their needs in a suitable way, and this is a service very suitable for peripheral areas. Hamouda described the point-of-sale service as very excellent, but he saw that it depends on the extent of the spread of these points themselves. He said that when merchants in their small shops ("canteens") have such small devices for points of sale, it is excellent and constitutes an additional path that reduces the pressure on the "Bankak" application. He considered that additional services do not represent additional pressure because they run on different paths, whether through browsers with regular internet, point-of-sale, or codes. However, he noted that they could constitute pressure if the problem is originally with the servers, and not in the method of accessing the servers. He continued: "But because it allows new paths, I think it is better, especially when there is a stable network." Stability of Electricity: Information technology and software expert Engineer Ammar Hamouda identified a package of solutions to address the problems of banking applications, but he noted that due to the war, the Sudanese people have gone many steps backward. He continued: "Therefore, I say that one of the axioms that people may not touch upon is that we first need stable electricity to contribute to the stability of many things, including the communication networks themselves." He said: "After the stability of electricity, we need a stable communication network that supports this work so that people can use their devices, and even after that, we can come to implement other solutions," noting that after the basic first layer related to providing energy and the existence of the network itself, we need, for example, an integrated system with electronic payment systems. Hamouda continued: "This system is represented by the presence of credit cards and debit cards, which are known in Sudan as ATM cards," noting that these cards are highly effective when they have integration with the global banking system. He mentioned that this service had begun in the transitional period (2019 – 2021), but he expressed his belief that there are currently difficulties, considering that this service saves a lot of effort and alternative ways that users practice to obtain bank transfers, whether from abroad or from within. Hamouda pointed out that one of the things that significantly affects the service is the spread of points of sale, and said: "When they are present in every store, every corner, and every service provider, it is much easier and its method is not like the method of the Bankak application or others," adding that when they spread more widely and transactions through them become accepted, it greatly reduces the pressure on the network and contributes to making things smoother.