The dollar rose above 7300 pounds on the parallel market, coinciding with a sharp slowdown in Khartoum’s markets and rising staple prices. Recurring outages in Bankak, the app operated by the Bank of Khartoum, have also made daily buying and selling more difficult.
A large share of citizens and traders rely on electronic transfers, bringing transactions to a standstill when the app goes down amid a shortage of cash and limited payment alternatives. The disruptions have coincided with a decline in the value of the Sudanese pound against foreign currencies and continuous changes in commodity prices.
Staple commodity prices
The increases have prompted shoppers to cut back on their purchases and seek cheaper alternatives as purchasing power declines and the cost of meeting daily needs rises.
Payment outages disrupt market activity
Trader Nafisa Hussein said rising prices for basic goods had forced people to spend longer searching for cheaper options. Some customers, she said, select their purchases before abandoning them because they cannot complete payment when Bankak goes down.
A trader identified only by his first name, Hussein, said he sometimes sells nothing all day because of the cash shortage and the limited alternatives available when the app’s services stop working.
Trader Mohamed Ali said purchasing power had fallen as prices continued to rise, while disruptions to electronic banking services had directly affected market activity because some customers were unable to pay for their purchases. He noted that the prices of some goods change daily.
Consumer Omar Mohamed said rising prices and app outages were making it more difficult to secure daily necessities. He said he had been unable to buy food on more than one occasion because the service was down, and called for the technical problems hindering its use to be addressed.
Recurring outages since the war began
The latest widespread outage of Bankak in Sudan began at the start of September, specifically on the first day of the month. Disruptions to electronic banking services in the country date back to the outbreak of the war in April 2023.
