The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the timeline for Nigerian bank customers in the Diaspora to enroll for their Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) to January 31, 2016.
It said that no bank customer would be allowed to make withdrawals from his or her account without completing the BVN registration exercise.
In a statement by its Director, Corporate Communications, Alh Ibrahim Mu’azu, the apex bank explained that the extension was to enable the customers in the Diaspora complete the enrollment exercise as well as link the BVN with their respective accounts.
The bank emphasized that the extension was only for customers in the Diaspora, even as it advised Deposit Money Banks to ensure that the exemption was utilized by the targeted group.
The statement reads in part: “The CBN has also expressed satisfaction with the progress made in the implementation of the BVN project, especially for accounts operated by residents of Nigeria.
“However, with the expiration of the October 31 enrollment deadline, the CBN has directed that bank accounts of Nigeria residents without the BVN would henceforth be operated as ‘No customer initiated debit’ account, until the account holders obtain and attach BVNs to the accounts.
“This means that a customer may not be allowed to withdraw money from his or her account until the BVN has been acquired and linked to the account.”
The CBN statement said that accounts of Nigeria residents without BVN would continue to receive cash and electronic credit inflows and would neither be deactivated nor confiscated.
It therefore advised the deposit money banks to educate their customers accordingly.
It also advised the banks to remind their customers of the need to link their BVN with their accounts if they had done the enrollment at another bank. [myad]
