Over 70 million bank customers are at risk of losing access to their accounts when the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive on restricting accounts without Bank Verification Numbers and National Identification Numbers goes into effect.
The CBN had on December 1, 2023, in a circular directed that a ‘Post no Debit’ restriction be placed on all bank accounts without the BVN and NIN from Friday, March 1, 2024.
‘Post No Debit’ is a term used to describe a restriction imposed by banks on specific accounts, preventing customers from making withdrawals, transfers, or any other debits from such accounts. This measure effectively freezes the funds in the account, rendering them inaccessible for the duration of the restriction.
The circular, jointly signed by the Director, Payments System Management Department, Chibuzo Efobi; and Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Haruna Mustapha, read, “It is mandatory for all Tier-1 bank accounts and wallets for individuals to have BVN and/or NIN. It remains mandatory for Tiers 2 & 3 accounts and wallets for individual accounts to have BVN and NIN
The circular went on to warn banks in the country that a “comprehensive BVN and NIN audit shall be conducted shortly and where breaches are identified, appropriate sanctions shall be applied.”
As the deadline approached, some banks sent out messages to their customers to regularise their accounts in line with the new CBN directive. While some asked customers to visit their physical branches, others made provisions for customers to update their accounts online.
The National President of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria, Sarafadeen Fasasi, who called for an extension of the deadline, said while the policy was a good move to improve banks’ KYC requirements, its implementation was worrisome.
He said, “We are all aware that it is a good policy for the system for us to have good KYC, but unfortunately, what we have a challenge with is the implementation. This is another wrong implementation. Before you give a deadline, you must have provided the access points. As of today, we have about 104 million NINs out of 200 million people expected to have NINs. So, there is a gap of about 100 million.
“It is the same thing with the BVN, which as of the last report was about 59.9 million out of 134 million expected bank accounts. That means we have over 70 million accounts, which will be affected.”
According to data from Statista, as of 2021, the number of active bank accounts in the country was around 133.5 million, with savings accounts making up about 120 million.
Fasasi claimed that the National Identity Management Commission lacked the capacity to deliver 100 million NINs within the required timeframe.
He said, “The question is, can the NIMC deliver the gap of about 100 million NINs within the deadline? The answer is no, so why should this drive Nigerians into another problem? For BVNs, we have a huge gap to deliver and only bank branches can enrol BVN as of today.
“Based on our research, about 300 local government areas out of the 774 LGAs in Nigeria have no bank branches; so, who are those who are going to provide BVN enrolment at those LGAs? It means that people are going to run into trouble.
“Also, the highest that the banks have done is 500,000 enrolment per month. We are not ready for this. Why the rush? Why not plan that every month, this is what we want to achieve based on our capacity and access points?”
He lamented that this was coming at the same time as the National Communications Commission had directed telecom companies to bar mobile lines without the NIN.
“Who is pursuing us in Nigeria in this critical period where everyone is groaning under adverse economic conditions? They want to add extra trauma; I think we need to reconsider this,” he concluded.
The Chairman, Consumer Rights Awareness, Advancement and Advocacy Initiative, Moses Igbrude, said the apex bank ought to assess the level of compliance before wielding the big stick
The President, Bank Customers Association of Nigeria, Dr Uju Ogubunka, called for an extension of the deadline to enable more bank customers regularise their accounts in line with the CBN directive.
