Why Bank Verification Number is very important

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Importance of the THE Bank Verification Number, BVN, is an-other
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.
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