The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has offered a lifeline to bank account holders over the deadline given to account holders over the registration of the Bank Verification Number (BVN).
According to The Nation, a statement signed by Ibrahim Mu’azu, CBN’s director (Corporate Communications) Nigeria’s apex bank informed that although the time frame for the initial enrolment had elapsed, the exercise should go on indefinitely.
The BVN captures bank customers’ biometric data, such as fingerprints, provides unique identification for them and equally protects their accounts from unauthorised access, identity theft and fraud.
The statement read: “Account holders who are yet to obtain their BVN are enjoined to visit their banks and do the registration. There are two steps to the BVN process. The first step is to obtain a BVN while the second step requires the account holder to link the BVN with his or her bank account(s).”
While also adding that an individual could enroll for a BVN without necessarily having a bank account, Mu’azu added that such individual can submit the acquired number at any bank he/she wishes to open an account.
He further stated that linking BVN to bank accounts is now a one-stop-shop which enables account holders to register and link their BVN to their accounts in one location, whether they are within striking distance of the banks where they have their accounts or not.
“The BVN is neither a payment instrument nor an account number and therefore cannot be used to access any account by unauthorised users,” he added.
Nigerians had woken to the harsh reality of the BVN irregularity when account holders who had not linked their BVNs to their accounts were disallowed from using the accounts for any transaction.
Recently, some bank account owners fumed over the recent closure of their accounts following the end of the deadline given for the BVN registration.
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