At least, 31.4 million customers have been captured in the Bank Verification Number system, Central Bank of Nigeria has stated.
The apex bank’s director in charge of banking and payment system, Dipo Fatokun, said in Abuja.
“As at December 2017, the implementation of the project recorded 31,426,091 registered BVNs and 43,959,282- accounts linked with BVN,’’ he said.
“To address the absence of a unique identifier in the Nigerian banking industry and to facilitate the creation of inclusive financial services environment, the CBN, in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee launched the BVN Project on February 14, 2014, with biometric solution, as a unique identifier for all bank customers.
“The objectives include the following: increase access, convenience, service levels across the industry; enable greater financial inclusion and integration of financial services into the economy, with its attendant positive impact on economic development.”
According to Fatokun, the BVN was also targeted at promoting safe and sound financial system in the country.
The Central Bank of Nigeria through the Banker’s Committee in collaboration with all banks in Nigeria on February 14, 2014 launched a centralized biometric identification system for the banking industry tagged Bank Verification Number (BVN).
The Bank Verification Number commonly called BVN is a biometric identification system implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria to curb or reduce illegal banking transactions in Nigeria. It is a modern security measure in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 1958 to reduce fraud in the banking system.
The system works by recording fingerprints and a facial photograph of the client.
Issues arose where fraudsters attempted to use the launch of the system to phish for customers’ bank details.
-Concise News
