Nigeria: CBN Issues New Guidelines for BVN and NIN Integration; What Customers and Banks Need to Know

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced new operational guidelines for deposit money banks (DMBs) aimed at enhancing the proper profiling of depositors, with a specific focus on biometric verification numbers (BVN) and National Identity Numbers (NIN).

In its recent circular addressed to commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, among others, the CBN emphasized the need to strengthen Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures within financial institutions under its supervision.

The updated operating guidelines constitute an amendment to Section 1.5.3 of the Regulatory Framework for Bank Verification Number (BVN) Operations and Watchlist for the Nigerian Banking Industry.

According to the circular, the CBN mandates all Tier-1 bank accounts and wallets for individuals to possess BVN and/or NIN. Similarly, it is compulsory for Tiers 2 and 3 accounts and wallets for individual accounts to have both BVN and NIN.

The process for account opening will now involve electronically retrieving BVN or NIN-related information from the NIBSS’ BVN or NIMC’s NIN databases, with this information becoming the primary data for onboarding new customers.

The CBN directed that all existing customer accounts/wallets for individuals with validated BVN must be promptly profiled in the NIBSS’ Industry Customer Account Database (ICAD), within 24 hours of opening accounts/wallets.

Implementation of the Guidelines:

1. Immediate Restrictions: Banks are prohibited from opening new Tier 1 accounts and wallets without BVN or NIN. Existing Tier 1 accounts/wallets without BVN or NIN must be placed on “Post No Debit or Credit” until compliance is achieved.
2. Effective March 1, 2024: Funded accounts or wallets without BVN/NIN will be placed on “Post No Debit or Credit,” with no further transactions permitted.
3. Revalidation Deadline: BVN or NIN attached to all accounts/wallets must be electronically revalidated by January 31, 2024.
4. Prohibition of Manual Customer Profile Creation: Enrolment of new customers by manually creating a customer profile and subsequently attaching a BVN or NIN is strictly prohibited.
5. Validation Process: Where BVN or NIN exists for a new customer, the bank must electronically check the BVN database at NIBSS’ portal and NIN at NIMC portal. Inconsistencies may lead to the cessation of the onboarding process.
6. No Placeholder BVN or NIN: The use of ‘placeholder BVN or NIN’ to support the creation of any customer profile is immediately prohibited.
7. Enrolment Process for Customers Without BVN or NIN: If a potential customer lacks BVN or NIN, the regulated financial institution may initiate the process of enrolling the individual into the BVN database, following protocols issued by NIBSS.
8. Customer Advice: Banks are required to advise new customers without BVN or NIN to visit the nearest NIN enrolment center.
9. Immediate Profiling: Regulated financial institutions must profile all customers’ accounts/wallets on NIBSS’ ICAD, tagging them with unique identifiers within 24 hours of generating and assigning an account number.

Non-compliance with the guidelines may result in sanctions. The CBN emphasizes the significance of these measures for promoting financial system stability.