Following complaints by some bank customers that their banks had turned them back from continuing the enrolment for their Bank Verification Number (BVN) due to the expiration of the deadline of October 31, 2015, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reiterated that the enrolment exercise is a continuous process.
Making the clarification in Abuja, the Bank’s Director, Corporate Communications, Ibrahim Mu’azu noted that, though the time frame given for the enrollment had lapsed, customers who are yet to register could still do so in order to remove the restrictions on their accounts. He therefore advised the customers to insist on being registered by their banks stressing that “the deadline of October 31, 2015 does not in any way suggest an end to the registration.”
Continuing, he said it would be improper for banks to turn back their customers from enrolling in the exercise.
Mu’azu also observed that many customers focused on BVN enrolment alone, forgetting that there were two stages to the BVN process. He explained that the first stage was to enroll for the BVN, after which customers are expected to link their BVN to all their bank accounts.
Furthermore, the CBN spokesman disclosed that an individual could enrol for a BVN without necessarily having an existing bank account. He explained that such individuals could then submit the acquired BVN at the point of opening bank account(s) in any bank of their choice.
He hinted that linking BVN to bank accounts is now a one-stop shop to enable customers register and link their BVN from one location, irrespective of the banks in which they have accounts. All these, he said were aimed at making the process as seamless as possible.
It will be recalled that the CBN, in a statement last week, approved an extension of the exercise for Nigerian bank customers in the Diaspora. The bank also issued a statement clarifying the use of BVN for FOREX transactions.
He clarified that the BVN was neither a payment instrument nor an account number and therefore could not be used to access any account by unauthorized users.
According to him, the BDCs were only required to collect the BVN of customers for the purpose of validating the identity of customers as well as making periodic returns to the CBN.
While noting that travellers from Nigeria had been submitting their BVN to buy foreign currencies from authorised dealers at the international airports, without complaints, Alhaji Mu’azu questioned why submitting BVN to BDCs became an issue.
