The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has ruled out the possibility of an extension of the deadline for customers to register for the Bank Verification Number (BVN) which closes tomorrow, Tuesday, June 30, 2015.
The director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Ibrahim Mu’azu said that the window was open for one and a half years and customers had ample opportunity to register.
Mu’azu assured that not having the BVN will not prevent bank customers from making transactions, such as payments and withdrawals, on their accounts. However, he said that customers using remote access services, such as internet banking and other services online, and even Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), would not be able to transact business.
The BVN, a central bank initiative, which was launched in February 2014, is being supported by the bankers’ committee. It is aimed at protecting bank customers and further strengthening the Nigerian banking system. It was among other things, introduced to address safety of customers’ funds, avoid losses through compromise of personal identification numbers and other criminal activities in the industry.
The BVN is a unique number that enables one person to have a single identity in the banking system. It basically ensures that a customer’s identity is not stolen. A customer is only expected to register at one bank, irrespective of the number of accounts he has.
In addition, experts noted that since banking is a sensitive industry that often requires consumers to identify themselves, the BVN offers a lot of advantages.
Certain forms of identification are easy to counterfeit, which had led to a rise in identity theft today. But by making use of the biometrics technologies, the banking industry would enjoy enhanced security, providing consumers with better security that protects their money, financial information and identity.
The Nigerian Inter-bank Settlement Systems Plc (NIBSS) recently revealed that 14 million customers have so far registered on the bank verification number (BVN) and the number has been projected to increase to 20 million by the end of this month.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had urged all bank customers to register on the BVN by June 2015, warning that any bank customer without the number would be deemed to have inadequate know-your-customers (KYC).
Director, Banking and Payment Department, CBN, Mr. ‘Dipo Fatokun, explained that the policy was designed in furtherance of the regulator’s efforts to develop a safe, reliable and efficient payment system in the country.
On his part, the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, recently explained that the BVN solution would stimulate banking transactions and also improve access to credit by customers.
Emefiele noted that with the BVN, the banking industry would begin to see the opening up of consumer credit opportunities.
He had said: “We are saying that with this project people who want to buy cars, want to do mortgage with the kind of data that would be fed into the centralised system and it should be possible for you to access bank credit easily.
He added: “By extension we would see how it would affect productivity, in the economy. Given the opportunity that we have right now, where the customers’ biometric is given, then it makes it comfortable for us to lend money to customers that want to buy car, we can lend money to farmer that need money to buy fertiliser, cobblers, barbers, or any form of business.”
Nevertheless, the central bank has advised deposit money banks to explore ways of simplifying the process of linking the bank verification numbers of customers with more than one account number.
The central bank, which recommended the use of an internet banking portals/ATMs; e-mail and formal letters; as well as self-service portal, stated that customers do not necessarily have to physically visit their branches for the linkage of the BVNs.
Commenting on the proposed internet banking portal/ATM channel for the linkage of customers’ accounts, the CBN stated: “DMBs are required to provide an interface on their banking platforms and ATM channels to enable customers log-in with their password or pin and submit their BVN to their banks.
“Thereafter, the bank could use the web service provider by NIBBS to validate the BVN and other details of the customer, in order to take appreciate decision, whether to link or to reject the request, thereby necessitating a physical visit to the bank.”
On the e-mail channel, the banking sector regulator added: “Where e-mail messaging already exists between banks and customers, DMBs could leverage on this facility or formal letter to obtain BVN from their customers. Thus customers could send their BVNs to their account officers using any of these channels.
Thereafter, the bank could verify the signature of the customer and validate before linking same to the account.”
It added: “Notwithstanding the aforementioned options, the DMBs are hereby reminded to ensure that the BVN is genuine and validate the demographic information associated with the BVN against the customer’s demographic data in the core banking application.”
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