Banks May Deny 14.6 Million Customers Services By Wednesday

Barring any last minute extension by the Bankers’ Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Deposit Money Banks will on Wednesday start to deny about 14.6 million customers from enjoying banking services over their failure to obtain Bank Verification Numbers.

The BVN project, which commenced in February 2014, will officially close on Tuesday, June 30, 2015.

The Bankers’ Committee, which comprises of the CBN, bank CEOs and a few other stakeholders, had given June 30, 2015 as the deadline for the customers to do their biometric registration and obtain their BVNs.

However, as of June 11, 2015, the committee said only 14 million customers had been registered under the BVN project.

Going by the current statistics from the Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access, an organisation committed to deepening financial inclusion in Nigeria, only about 28.6 million adults in the country have bank accounts.

This means that at least 14 million bank customers have yet to do their biometric registration and get their BVNs.

The BVN project will help the banks to identify their customers through their fingerprints. Each bank customer’s fingerprint is linked to their unique number.

It is meant to help check fraud in the banking system, boost retail or consumer credit, and also enhance economic growth.

The Managing Director, United Bank for Africa Plc, Mr. Phillips Oduoza, who spoke after the Bankers’ Committee meeting in Abuja about three weeks ago, confirmed that only about 12.5 million bank customers had been registered since the exercise began.

While calling on those who had yet to register for the BVN to do so before the expiration of the June 30 deadline, he declared that customers who failed to do so would not be able to enjoy banking services.

Oduoza had said, “We also discussed the electronic banking space. In the area of BVN, we have done 12.5 million customers and this is a substantial mileage. There is still a need to close the gap before the deadline of June 30 and any customer that hasn’t done so will not enjoy banking services.

“So, we are urging customers to enrol so that they will continue to enjoy unhindered banking services.”

He added that by the end of this month, those that had yet to get their BVNs would not be able to have access to credit, enjoy foreign exchange and conduct Internet banking services.

The Managing Director, Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc, the organisation driving the biometric registration process, Mr. Ade Shonubi, had a few weeks ago said it was unlikely that the Bankers’ Committee would extend the deadline.

As of the time filing this report on Sunday, it is unclear if customers who failed to register by Wednesday would be allowed to do so and gain access to their accounts or whether the Bankers’ Committee would allow an extension of the deadline.

While there are 28.6 million bank accounts belonging to adults in Nigeria, the Electronic Payment Providers Association of Nigeria states that the number of bank account holders (made up of both individuals, including children, and organisations) has reached 76 million out of a population of 170 million people.

A new World Bank report states that Nigeria, like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, has a growing population who are excluded from the financial services compared to their counterparts abroad.

Punch reportage