Resolving BVN challenges

Nearly three weeks after the October 31, 2015 deadline given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to all bank customers to enrol for the Bank Verification Number (BVN), it is sad that there are still unresolved issues around the BVN. Some of these issues arose primarily out of negligence by some Nigerian bank customers who, in the usual Nigerian way, waited for the last minute to besiege the banks, the same way they did on the initial deadline of June 30, while others waited until their accounts were restricted by the banks. Incredible as it may sound, there were also some bank customers who claimed that they were not properly informed about linking their BVN to all their bank accounts. Without agreeing with such excuse, we daresay it perhaps calls for a deeper look at information dissemination channels by both the CBN and the deposit money banks.

Beyond the negligence by bank customers, however, there have been issues that had to do with the way the banks themselves have handled the whole process. For instance, there have been cases where bank customers who properly enrolled for the BVN in a particular bank still had access to their accounts restricted by the bank at the expiration of the deadline. Other issues have had to do with challenges of linking the BVN with other accounts owned by the same account holder.

But these issues were foreseen, and we must admit that some of the banks were not proactive from the beginning. When in July the United Bank for Africa (UBA) plc, in response to some of the challenges associated with the exercise, introduced a simple, convenient and hassle-free process that involves bank customers who already had their BVN from other banks sending their BVN to a short code number *919*6#, BusinessDay had in an editorial then commended UBA for the initiative and urged other banks to borrow a leaf and come up with fresh initiatives to make the process easier for customers who were either enrolling for the first or trying to link their accounts. We had also called on banks in the country to join hands with the CBN in heightening the tempo of public enlightenment campaign on the BVN. Apparently, most of the banks seemed to have preferred to wait until those issues arose, and then they became reactive.

It is heartening, however, that as we write, most of the issues around the BVN are being sorted out, with more and more customers enrolling or getting their BVN linked to their accounts. Some of the banks have also responded positively by setting up special desks in their banking halls to resolve all BVN-related issues, with some of them even working on weekends solely for this purpose. Others, such as GTBank, have also toed the technology path by coming up with short codes through which customers could link their BVN to their other accounts without necessarily visiting the banks.

While we commend these moves and call on other banks that are still lagging behind to quickly do the needful to ease the process and ensure speedy resolution of all pending issues, we insist that the lessons from the pitfalls in this process must not be lost on all concerned – the CBN, the deposit money banks, and Nigerian bank customers.

The BVN, an initiative of the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee, was launched on February 14, 2014. It is a unique identifier for each bank customer across the financial industry, making it possible to build and track customers’ financial history and activity.