The Committee of e-Banking Industry Heads has called on bank customers to take advantage of the deadline extension by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to enroll for the Biometric Verification Number (BVN).
The Chairman, CeBIH, Mr. Tunde Kuponiyi, enjoined all “customers to visit their banks and promptly enroll for the BVN.” This would enable them to maximize the purpose of the extension, which “was to allow customers enough time to enroll irrespective of where they are based.
“The extension presents ample opportunity for bank customers to do their enrolment without the challenge of spending hours on queues as experienced few days to the end of the initial deadline. The four months extension seems a long period, but customers should not delay or postpone their enrolment – it is better to do it now. Customers should not wait a few days to October 31st to avoid last minute registration rush and avoid spending hours in banking halls. They should also remember that they can enroll for their BVNs from any branch of their bank, hence there is no need to wait till when you can visit the branch where the account is domiciled.”
He said that the benefits of the initiative would protect their funds against fraudulent and unauthorized access. The BVN protects customer bank accounts from unauthorized access, as biometric information is not easily manipulated. It also increases the efficiency of the banking industry as it reduces incidence of fraudulent/duplicate bank accounts, and easily highlights blacklisted customers.
By Dike Onwuamaeze
[divider]