 |
|
BVN Headache Over for Diaspora Nigerians.
Central Bank Opens Centers in US, UK, India, China, UAE, and South Africa
Nigerians outside the shores of the country will now be able to obtain Bank Verification Numbers, BVN, for bank accounts held in Nigeria in compliance with recent Central bank of Nigeria requirements without travelling back home.
The Apex bank's June deadline that all bank customers must register in the biometric database or have their accounts suspended had caused a lot of concern for many Nigerians abroad who battled with the dilemma of travelling home just for the verification purpose or forfeiting the accounts until the CBN issued a circular on August 18 designating international registration centers for such purpose.
The CBN memo names centers in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai in China; Washington DC, Atlanta, Houston and New York in USA; Leicester and London in UK; New Delhi in India; Dubai in UAE and Johannesburg, South Africa. While most of these centers run by a consultant, Online Integrated Systems, will be operational by second week of September at the latest, CBN is yet to announce the dates for New York and Houston centers and other locations said to follow in future.
Some of the centers located in major cities where Nigerians abound are already operational according to the circular while others will soon open up. What this means is that those abroad with bank accounts in Nigeria need to just visit local centers in their countries of residence to obtain the biometric identity document.
The memo also advises that customers could obtain BVN from international branches of Nigerian Banks in their countries of residence where such branches have been equipped to capture the required security features for the system.
CBN says on its website that the BVN was introduced to complement other “means of identification of customers, which include: the driver's license; the International Passport; the National Identity Card; and the Permanent Voter's Card”
The Biometric security system was introduced in collaboration with the Bankers' Committee in February 2014 as a “centralized biometric identification system for the banking industry” which will enhance security and account portability in the Nigerian banking sector. CBN notes that the Bank Verification Number (BVN) system which aims to protect bank customers and strengthen the banking system will enable a bank customer to have a single identity in the banking system.
Its expected benefits, according to CBN, include:
1. A unique identity that can be verified across the Nigerian Banking Industry (not peculiar to one bank)
2. Customers bank accounts are protected from unauthorized access.
3. Enhanced banking industry chances of being able to fish out blacklisted customers.
4. Addressing issues of identity theft, thus reducing exposure to fraud.
5. Authenticating transactions without the use of cards, using only biometric features.