The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned the general public that there will be no extension of the deadline for the Bank Verification Number(BVN)
Godwin Emefiele
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has made it clear that there would not be further extension when the October 31, 2015 deadline for the bank verification number (BVN) exercise elapses.
This, according to the banking sector regulator means that customers without the BVN-linked accounts may risk being restricted from normal operations of their accounts or free access to their bank account balances by the end of next month.
It revealed that statistical trend of the BVN registration exercise showed with about 52 million active bank accounts in various banks, total enrolment stood at about 20 million, out of which about 14 million accounts have been linked to the BVN as at September, 2015.
It emphasised in a statement at the weekend that BVN is now mandatory requirement for opening new bank accounts, adding that those to be affected by the restrictions are customers whose accounts were opened prior to the commencement of the BVN scheme.
The CBN, in collaboration with the bankers’ committee, introduced the BVN on February 14, 2014. This initiative of the bankers’ committee is aimed at ensuring unique identity for all bank customers and other users of financial services in the country by the use of the customers’ biometrics as means of identification.