Regulatory Alerts2016-08-04
Circular to All Banks and Other Financial Institutions on Payment System Directives
The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued directives removing fixed interest rates on credit cards and discontinuing actual address verification for customers possessing a Bank Verification Number (BVN). Banks are now required to embed BVN biometric data into payment cards to enable offline authentication on ATMs and point-of-sale terminals while implementing new modalities for BVN watch-listing. Additionally, savings account holders with a BVN are permitted to deposit cheques with a maximum daily value of two million naira.
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA Central Business District P.M.B. 0187, Garki, Abuja. +234 - 0946238445 BANKING AND PAYMENTS SYSTEM DEPARTMENT BPS/DIR/GEN/CIR/03/005 July 28, 2016 CIRCULAR TO ALL BANKS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS The Central Bank of Nigeria, in furtherance of its efforts at strengthening the Nigerian Payments System, hereby issues the following directives:
- The Removal of fixed interest rate on Credit cards.
- Discontinuation of actual address verification in account opening, for customers with the Bank Verification Number (BVN).
- Banks should begin to embed BVN biometric data in payment cards issued henceforth, to facilitate off-line BVN verification and biometric-based customer authentication on such payment devices as, ATMs, POS, Kiosks, etc.
- Approval of BVN Watch-listing modalities and release by CBN of necessary Credit Risk Management System (CRMS) data, to facilitate its use for enriching the BVN watch-list.
- Savings account customers with BVN should be allowed to deposit cheques not more than N2,000,000.00 (two million naira) in value into their accounts, per customer, per day. Please be guided and ensure strict compliance with the content of this circular. 'Dipo Fatokun Director, Banking & Payments System Department