THE Bank Verification Number, BVN, is
another important step the Central Bank
of Nigeria, CBN, is using to strengthen
the security of banking transactions and
to ensure that fraudulent transactions
are minimised, if not totally eliminated.
The campaign is on, but the public may
not realise its importance until it closes
in June 2015.
Yet as the public embraces the initiative
with enthusiasm, it should be aware that
some fraudsters are trying to undermine
the exercise by providing seemingly
easier registration options for bank
account holders. They request these
details online and threaten that the
account would be closed if the owner
does not provide them the details. Their
target is the account holder’s money.
The best way of enrolling remains direct
communication with one’s bank.
BVN uses biometric technology to
register customers in the financial
system. It records these physical
features which are unique to individuals
– fingerprints and the face. The record
would be used to identify the person
afterwards. Once a person’s biometrics
have been recorded, and BVN issued the
account would be accessed through
BVN. The major objectives of the
initiative are to protect bank customers,
reduce fraud and strengthen the Nigerian
banking system.
Biometric enrolment is helpful to people
who cannot read and write. Their finger
prints and pictures would serve the same
purpose as signatures. Multiple account
holders would be covered with a single
registration in any of the banks where
they have accounts.
BVN will help the banking system reduce
situations where loan defaulters, for
instance, move from one bank to the
other and the banks extend new credits
to them, without knowing their history.
Banks would be able to track
transactions across all banks in Nigeria
with more ease.
As CBN implements the BVN initiative, it
has to ensure the security of the data,
from rogue bankers and also importantly
from damage, as has been the
experience with other sectors that
engaged in biometric enrolments. It
should also create measures to punish
banks that might exploit the information
they have to blackmail customers with
whom they have disagreements.
BVN is a great initiative that would
reduce illegal banking transactions and
improve national financial intelligence
gathering. The interests of account
holders should be accorded importance
so that their increased confidence in the
banking system would improve the
financial standing of banks. Customers
will use banks more when they know that
their transactions are safe. BVN offers
vast opportunities to protect customers,
banks and the entire financial system.
The CBN should enhance the security of
BVN to protect the entire financial
system. It should be on the watch for
technologies to keep improving BVN
capacities. (Vanguard)

@ OP what will happen to accounts whose holders are not in the country?

ascaris:
@ OP what will happen to accounts whose holders are not in the country?

Am still waiting to hear that from CBN dear.

Allowing banks to have biometric data directly is not safe and secure as copy of finger print can as well be used to gain access wherever a person has to use finger print for authentication (gadgets, car, home access etc for instance) by playing different kind of pranks (Consult IT people on this). Thus all things you use finger prints for when authenticationg is no longer going to be safe as one cannot trust fully bank employees considering recent and past scams/fraud being perpetuated by them. Database may eventually get to the hands of rogues. So would it not better, instead of BVN by banks, should CBN asks banks to request customers to have a kind of ID that are issued by government or any other ones recognized by government e.g. National passport, National ID card etc that owners' biometric data must have been captured before issuance (database would be with government, and request for confirmation with picture can then be made to it whenever is needed).
CBN trusting bank employees with citizens' biometric data may eventually be catastrophic considering the kind of employees that could have access to such data. Moreover, more gadgets are coming to market globally that allow authentication using finger print, and anybody with copy of finger print can play different kinds of pranks to have access (It is very possible, and already proven).
Considering these and more that if asked the Nigerian masses, take alternative measures.
Alternative measures that can easily be under control of government should be considered.