ABUJA, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Following the expiration of the deadline for Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) registration on October 31, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has barred bank customers who do not have the BVN from withdrawing from their accounts.
The CBN however extended the deadline for BVN enrolment for Nigerian Bank customers in the Diaspora to January 31, 2016. “This extension was made public via a circular “Extension Of BVN For Nigeria Bank Customers In Diaspra And Other Related Matters” issued on Monday, 2 November 2015, signed by ‘Dipo Fatokun, CBN Director of Banking and Payments System Department.”
While expressing satisfaction with the progress made in the implementation of the BVN project, especially for accounts operated by residents of Nigeria, the CBN in a statement by its director, Corporate Communications, Alhaji Ibrahim Mu’azu, said bank accounts without BVN will be operated as “No Customer Initiated Debit” account, until the account holders obtain and attach BVNs to the accounts.
This means that a customer will not be allowed to withdraw money from his or her account until the BVN has been acquired and linked to the account.
The CBN however clarified that accounts of Nigeria residents without BVN would continue to receive cash and electronic credit inflows and would neither be deactivated nor confiscated. It therefore advised the deposit money banks to educate their customers accordingly.
It also advised the banks to remind their customers of the need to link their BVN with their accounts if they had done the enrolment at another bank.
The CBN had issued a statement stipulating that any bank customer without the BVN by October 31, 2015, would be deemed to have inadequate Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements.
On the extension for Diaspora accounts, the CBN urged banks to ensure that the exemption was utilised by the targeted group, emphasising that the extension was only for customers in the Diaspora.
Mu’azu explained that the extension was to enable the customers in the Diaspora complete the enrolment exercise as well as link the BVN with their respective accounts.
Credit: Leadership (Nigeria) / Unic Press UK
