Central Bank of Nigeria Extends Bank Verification Enrollment to October 31, 2015

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN), has extended the deadline for customers to enrol for the Bank Verification Number (BVN) by four months till October 31, 2015.

Director, Banking and Payments System Department, CBN, Mr. Dipo Fatokun, announced the extension in a circular to the public.

According to the circular:  “You would recall that as part of its effort in the implementation of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) project, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued circulars stipulating milestones for the successful completion of the project. One of such milestones was that by June 30, all Deposit Money Banks (DMB) customers should have the BVN. Any bank customer without the BVN attached to the account would be deemed to have inadequate requirement with respect to the Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines.

“It has come to our notice that the BVN registration has elicited tremendous interest from the Nigerian banks’ customers who crowded the bank halls, in order to beat deadline. Furthermore, there is need to give Nigerian banks’ customers in diaspora, ample time to enrol on the programme. The guideline for their enrolment is being finalised and will be released soon.

“In view of the foregoing, it has become imperative for the bank to extend the timeline for all bank customers to have the BVN. The deadline for enrolment is hereby extended from June 30, 2015 to October 31, 2015. This extension is expected to facilitate a smooth completion of the registration exercise.”

The BVN was introduced by the CBN and was launched February 14 last year. It is the registration of customers in the financial system using biometric technology. The objective of the BVN initiative is to protect bank customers, reduce fraud and further strengthen the Nigerian banking system.