In the upcoming weeks and months, Nigerians are expected to visit commercial banks and National Identity Management Commission offices in large numbers following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) latest directive to financial institutions.
The directive instructs them to suspend transactions on all individual accounts or wallets lacking a Bank Verification Number (BVN) or National Identity Number (NIN).
The CBN communicated this directive through a circular addressed to commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, as well as other financial institutions and mobile money operators.
The circular, signed by Mr. Chibuzo Efobi, Director of the Payment System Management Department at the CBN, and Mr. Haruna Mustapha, Director of the Financial Policy and Regulations Department, emphasized that all individual existing and new tier 1, 2, and 3 accounts/wallets must be linked with BVN or NIN.
This directive is part of the CBN’s efforts to promote financial system stability, involving the amendment of Section 1.5.3 of the Regulatory Framework for BVN Operations and Watch-List for the Nigerian Banking Industry (Guidelines).
The circular also specified that existing unfunded individual Tier 1 accounts without BVN or NIN would be immediately placed on “Post No Debit or Credit.”
