CBN has given a 30-day ultimatum to Banks and other financial institutions to close accounts without Bank Verification (BVN).
Financial institutions have been directed to link customer’s BVN to related accounts/wallets (except Tier 1). This requires using the customer’s BVN generated after his/her enrollment to link accounts/wallets to which he or she is a signatory, after validation.
Data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) showed that 57.39 million customers’ accounts have been linked to their BVNs as at April 8.
The directive was given following demand for effectiveness of Know- Your-Customer (KYC) and Customer’s-Due-Diligence principles, and promotion of more safe, reliable and efficient banking and payment systems.
It is also expected that it would address increasing incidence of frauds and to enhance public confidence in the banking industry and provide a guide for BVN operations and watch-list activities carried out by financial institutions in Nigeria.