About three months to the June deadline of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) initiative introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) early last year, it would seem, going by recent reports, that scores of stakeholders, particularly bank customers, are yet to embrace the project. Customers of banks are not just required to have their BVNs by June this year, but shall no longer be able to operate their accounts after the said date, except if the exercise is extended. Unfortunately, not a few Nigerians suffer from the procrastination or last-minute-rush syndrome, even for a crucial project as registering and obtaining BVNs from their respective banks.
The BVN effort, which involves the identification by banks of an individual based on physiological or behavioural attributes, like fingerprints, facial features, signatures, et cetera, became imperative because of increasing incidents of Password and Personal Identification Number (PIN) frauds against bank customers. A customer’s all 10 fingers and facial image are captured, making it possible for individuals involved in banking transactions to identify themselves using their biometric features, which will in turn be matched against information in the central database at the Nigeria Inter- Bank-Settlement System (NIBSS). With a BVN, bank transaction authentication can be done without the use of cards, but with only biometric information and a PIN.
The CBN, through the Bankers’ Committee, Deposit Money Banks and NIBSS, launched the centralised biometric identification system, re-christened as BVN, early last year. Recall that the current CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who before his appointment was the Chairman, Bankers’ Committee Sub-Committee on Biometrics, had described the initiative as an ambitious step that would revolutionalise banking operations in the country.“It is a rare opportunity that needed to be embraced. This project has capacity to serve over 160 million people. The good thing is that even when one forgets his/ her Personal Identification Number (PIN), once the information is verified, transactions can be done”, he said. Emefiele added the project would lead to the resetting of credit standards in the banking sector, among others. When he launched the project in Lagos in February 2014, then the CBN Governor, now Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, also said BVN would be a game-changer for financial inclusion, stressing that it would address issues relating to unified identity for bank customers.
Indeed, the Biometric Project Manager at NIBSS, Mr. Oluseyi Adenmosun, was quoted as saying that BVN gives a unique identity that is verifiable across the banking industry, and that it can make it easier for customers’ bank accounts to be protected from unauthorised access. It would equally address the problem of identity theft and significantly reduce fraud risks in the banking sector. Adenmosun said biometric information would be used as a means of first identifying and verifying all individuals that have accounts in any bank in the country; and as a means of authenticating customers’ identity at the bank/ point of transaction. And whereas the chip and pin technology that facilitates Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and Point of Sale (PoS), can be compromised, the BVN makes such fraud extremely difficult.
“It (BVN) will not completely eliminate fraud, but it will cut it to the barest minimum. The biometrics cannot be easily stolen… because it is based on fingerprints”, Adenmosun says. It is implied that no two people have the same biometric information. Banks will thus be able to check the features of customers involved in transactions against the records at their disposal as captured, thereby correctly identifying account owners. While fielding questions from journalists in Katsina, Katsina State, not too long ago, Head of Payment Systems, Policy and Oversight Division, CBN, Mr. Musa Itopa Jimoh, also gave assurances that BVN will assist in stemming money laundering challenges.
But in spite of all its acclaimed positive attributes; and official assurances on its prowess in combating frauds in the banking sector, stakeholders are still expressing reservations on the ‘real’ motive behind the initiative. Questions revolve around the privacy and safety of personal information, as well as the possibility of smart crooks cashing in on sensitive information about bank customers to perpetrate fraud. Therefore, if like the CBN insists, “the BVN solution is to ensure accountability, protect bank customers’ account from unauthorized access, reduce exposure to fraud, check identity theft, enhance credit advancement to bank customers, and also encourage financial inclusion”, it has become very imperative that public enlightenment be urgently intensified to get all stakeholders on board the project. This is especially important because there’s a time limit attached to the project, after which expiration bank customers “shall no longer be able to operate their bank accounts”.
