The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has adopted the National Identification Number (NIN) as the only acceptable means of identification for institutions across the country from January next year.
The adoption of NIN, the apex bank said, was in a bid to ensure uniformity in the instrument of identification used by financial institutions across the country.
The CBN noted? that the verification of customers’ identity has been very difficult in Nigeria because the identity environment is fraught with diverse and disparate types of identity systems, all running in isolation and having no link, integration or standardisation nor a centralised identity database for verifying the identity of bank customers.
This new system would be backed up by a central standardised identity database which would in turn enable financial institutions verify the identity of their customers on an online real time basis, using their NINs or biometrics.
In line with this, a circular has been sent to all banks, microfinance banks and primary mortgage banks, that starting January 8, 2013, the NIN would become the basis for customer verification and compliance by all banks and other deposit-taking financial institutions including the Microfinance Banks (MFBs) and Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs) in the country.
The circular signed by the Director, Banking & Payments System Department, Mr Dipo Fatokun, posted on the CBN website yesterday, said that to facilitate the transition to NIN, an enrolment exercise for all bank customers nationwide would commence on September 1, 2012 and? be completed by December 31, 2012 for this purpose.
“As part of the CBN’s efforts to bolster the banking industry and the entire financial system, it has in the recent past commenced steps to overhaul the KYC processes in banks, including the recently concluded customer account verification exercise.”