The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has announced plans to freeze accounts lacking a Bank Verification Number (BVN), or National Identification Number (NIN), starting from April 2024.
In a circular issued on Friday, the apex bank instructed banks to impose a “Post No Debit” restriction on existing Tier-1 accounts or wallets without BVN or NIN.
Effective immediately, unfunded accounts or wallets will face a “Post No Debit or Credit” restriction until the necessary processes are completed.
Furthermore, as of March 1, 2024, funded accounts or wallets will also be subject to the same restriction, with no further transactions permitted.
The circular, issued by CBN’s Director of Payments System Management Department, Chibuzo Efobi, and the Director of Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Haruna Mustapha, emphasized that all BVN or NIN attached to accounts/wallets must be electronically revalidated by January 31, 2024.
As part of its efforts to promote financial system stability and strengthen Know Your Customer (KYC), procedures, the CBN will conduct a “comprehensive BVN and NIN audit shortly.” Any identified breaches will result in appropriate sanctions.
The CBN outlined the commencement of the account opening process, involving the electronic retrieval of BVN or NIN-related information from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System’s (NIBSS), BVN or the National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC), NIN databases. Existing customer accounts/wallets for individuals with validated BVN will be profiled in the NIBSS’ ICAD within 24 hours of opening accounts/wallets.
In cases where a potential customer lacks a BVN or NIN, regulated financial institutions are advised to initiate the enrollment process onto the BVN database, following protocols issued by NIBSS.
The move aims to enhance financial system security and align with KYC regulations for financial institutions in Nigeria.
