Bank customers ’ll now transact business with fingerprints – Sanusi
CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi
The Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday
inaugurated the biometric registration of bank customers and declared
that after 18 months of the exercise, bank customers would not be able
to do any transaction without their fingerprints.
The Governor, CBN, Mr. Lamido Sanusi,
who launched the biometric registration exercise at the CBN head office
in Lagos on behalf of the Bankers’ Committee, said the development
represented a milestone in the nation’s financial system and economy in
general.
He said the new biometric registration
which will lead to the issuing of Bank Verification Number, a unique
identity for every bank customer, would help to mitigate fraud, money
laundering and other vices in the country.
“We have launched the Bank Verification
Number today, the timetable suggests that within 18 months, every
customer would have been registered. This is a day that we would
remember for many reasons, not for where we are but where we are likely
to get from here. Nobody can steal this identity except he or she steals
my fingers. After the deadline, if you don’t register, you cannot do
any transaction with the bank,” Sanusi said.
The CBN governor said, “This is a major
development that protects you from fraud, fights money laundering, cyber
crime and fraud. It is a unique customer identity. With this, you have
your data. Every Nigerian bank has access to the data. Every
microfinance bank has access to the data. Every financial institution
has access to the data.
“The CBN will issue a circular next
week that will basically inform customers that this has now started. As
soon as a bank gets the circular, the branches will issue notice to
customers to find time to come in once and register. You can register
anywhere actually. You can go to any bank or agent to register. Once you
register, you cannot register again.”
According to Sanusi, the biometric
registration exercise will help bank customers such that they may not
need to use many ATM cards any more.
He said the CBN was working with
NIGCOMSAT to put internet in all the 774 local governments in the
country to enable the revolution to go nationwide.
Sanusi said, “What the banks are going
to do is try to put all the information on your existing ATM card. If
you have a First Bank or Zenith Bank ATM Visa card or MasterCard, they
can put on your Bank Verification Number, and put your biometric on it.
So you don’t need to carry two or three cards; so all is going to be on
one card. So you use it for identification, and you use it for
transaction, and everything will be there.”
He added, “With this, if you commit a
fraud in Maiduguri and you try to withdraw the money in Ibadan, this new
unique ID system will pick you up because it is a unique ID with a
single database for all the banks.
“Just the fact that you know that if you
committed a crime, you will never get to use a bank or a MFBs is enough
to stop that fraud. The same thing with money laundering or any other
crime. It is up to bank customers to register.”
