BVN enrollment: CBN extends exercise to October 31, 2015

ITRealms

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this afternoon extended the Bank Verification Number (BVN) exercise to October 31, 2015, ITRealms reports.

The four month’s extension came on the heels of the clamour by bank customers across the country for extension following the expiration of the deadline for the exercise on June 30.

Some of the customers, ITRealms gathered had complained that the process was too slow due to internet connectivity problems and appealed to the CBN to push the exercise further up in order to ensure no customer is disenfranchised in the verification.

However, contrary to the claims by Deposit Money Banks (DMB) that there would be total restriction on accounts without Bank Verification Number (BVN), after the deadline today, the CBN has clarified that account holders can still have access to cash transactions while the e-banking transactions would be restricted.

The BVN, ITRealms learnt is an initiative of the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee, launched on February 14, 2014.  It is a unique identifier for each bank customer across the financial industry, making it possible to build and track customer financial history and activity.

Cyriacus Nnaji /GEE

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BVN deadline:crowd take over banks

 ITRealms

 

As the stipulated deadline for the Bank Verification Number (BVN) exercise draws to a close tomorrow, June 30, 2015, and with no sign of extension, Nigerian banks have witnessed an unprecedented crowd as account holders try to beat deadline, reports ITRealms.

Investigations which include visits to First Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), Access Bank and Zenith Bank branches across the country by ITRealms indicated that customers had waited till the twilight of the exercise to ensure compliance.

The exercise which was introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was meant to solve identity management challenges in the banking sector. The CBN introduced the BVN in collaboration with all banks operating in Nigeria and managed by the Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement Systems (NIBBS). 

Launched on February 14, 2014, ITRealms reports, the  exercise was described as an initiative that will boost financial inclusion as those who have typically stayed away from mainstream banking due to low literacy levels will be able to open and access their bank accounts using their biometric information rather than traditional identification methods.

The general public were encouraged to visit any branch of their banks to register for  BVN in order to secure their accounts from fraudsters.

The bank verification number gives every bank customer a unique identity across the banking industry, since it has a centralized biometric identification system which could be used for every identification and verification at point of banking operations.

Cyriacus Nnaji/ GEE

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