Banks to block accounts without BVN/NIN as deadline elapses

By Chinwendu Obienyi

bank depositors whose accounts do not have a Bank Verification Number (BVN) or National Identity Number (NIN) or both risk having them frozen in compliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) directive which takes effect on Friday, March 1, 2024.
The apex bank on December 2, 2023, directed all commercial, merchant, non-interest, payment service banks, Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) and mobile money operators to ensure that all Tier-1 bank accounts and wallets for individuals to have either the Bank Verification Number (BVN) or National Identity Number (NIN) or both.
Owing to this, the CBN also warned that effective March 1, 2024, all funded accounts or wallets without BVN or NIN shall be placed on “Post No Debit or Credit” and no further transactions permitted.
It said BVN or NIN attached to and/or associated with all accounts or wallets must be electronically revalidated by January 31, 2024. Thus, banks in a notice to customers sent earlier on Wednesday, urged them to come forward and update their bank account information with their Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN) before the March 1, 2024 deadline.
The banks warned that customers who fail to provide the required information risk being unable to carry out transactions. For instance, Access Bank, United Bank for Africa, Ecobank, and Guaranty Trust Bank are among the banks that have sent out these messages to their customers.
The message from Ecobank obtained by Daily Sun yesterday, read, “Dear valued Customer please be informed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through its circular dated December 1, 2023, has announced that all accounts without Bank Verification Number (BVN) and/or the National Identity Number (NIN) would not be able to carry out transactions from March 1, 2024.
Consequently, you will be required to update your account information with your National Identification Number (NIN) and Bank Verification Number (BVN) if you have not done so already. “Kindly click on the customer update link https://customerupdate.ecobank.com/ciu/login “Input your account details, Tick the terms and conditions box, An OTP will be sent to your registered email address, Input OTP and submit, Click on Request, Select statutory ID or identification update and upload a copy of your NIN document. Tick the acceptance box and submit”.
In a similar message sent to its customers, GT Bank said, “Dear Valued Customer, we would like to inform you of the mandatory requirement to link your Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identity Number (NIN) to your personal GTBank Account.
The process of linking your BVN and NIN to your Account is simple and can be completed using any of these channels: “Dial *737*20*BVN# from your registered mobile number to link your BVN or Visit our website www.gtbank.com self-service portal to link your BVN and NIN or Visit the nearest GTBank branch to link your BVN and NIN to your account.”

It will be recalled that the CBN stated that to ensure uniform and full compliance with the new processes, the Executive Compliance Officers, Chief Compliance Officers or Heads of the Compliance Functions had been advised to acquaint themselves with Guidance Notes which becomes applicable to all institutions regulated by the CBN.
The bank said a comprehensive BVN and NIN audit shall be conducted, adding that where breaches were identified, appropriate sanctions would be applied.
The CBN further advised all financial institutions under its regulatory purview to apply strict compliance on restrictions on Tier1 accounts/wallets as they relate to limits on transaction values and cumulative balances.