Expect restriction on accounts as BVN deadline ends next two days

As the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said there would not be an extension to the October 31, 2015 deadline for the Bank Verification Number (BVN) registration exercise, bank customers who have not yet enrolled and obtained their BVN should expect restriction on access to their accounts until they have done so.

As at last week, only 21 million out of about 45 million active accounts owned by adults and children in various banks had enrolled for the BVN, data from the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) indicated.

BusinessDay’s visit to some banks in Lagos shows that queues have returned in the banking halls as customers are rushing to register before the deadline.

The Bankers’ Committee which met early this month, reviewed the BVN project and noted that the October 31 deadline was sacrosanct.

“We do not want what happened the last time where there was a rush towards the end of the first deadline. We wanted to make sure that we continue to send the press materials so the people can come and do the bank verification number because there will be no extension of deadline and once that deadline passed you will not be able to operate that account,” Jibril Aku, managing director, Ecobank Nigeria, said while addressing the media after the meeting.

He explained that some facilities had been made available for smooth registrations of Nigerians in Diaspora.

“If they go to branch of any Nigerian bank in their jurisdiction, they can do the verification there. We also have a consultant who is assisting for those who may not have an embassy, from the embassy or any Nigerian bank branch, they can do it for free but the consultant will assist for a fee,” he said.

Dipo Fatokun, CBN director, Banking and Payments System Department, who spoke in Lagos at the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) Bi-Monthly Forum, said, “Your account will not be accessible to you if do not register for BVN.”

Nigerians, specifically bank customers, usually wake up to comply with directives that will affect their finances when it is last minute to the deadline. That time, they scramble to the banks as if such policy or directive was issued the same day.

This was what happened on June 30, 2015 when the earlier deadline given for the BVN enrollment expired. There was last-minute rush to register which led to long queues in the banking halls, while a lot of people requested for an extension of deadline.

The BVN 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.

The CBN had last year issued a directive to all banks to ensure that their customers register for BVN before June 30, 2015, but further extended it to October 31, 2015, so as to protect all e-banking transactions from fraudulent attacks.