No BVN, no withdrawals – CBN says as Nigerians abroad get extension

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Monday evening extended the timeline for Nigerian bank customers in the Diaspora to enroll for their Bank Verification Numbers to January 31, 2016. In a statement made 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.

While emphasising that the extension was only for customers in the Diaspora, the statement 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 clarified 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. CBN 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.