Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says over 57 million citizens have enrolled for their bank verification numbers (BVN) as at March 31, 2023.
This represents a 5 percent increase compared
to the 54.65 million BVNs enrolled in the first half of 2022.
Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, spoke on the
challenges of the apex bank and key policies introduced to make payments
faster, at the 34th seminar for finance correspondents and business editors in
Calabar on Tuesday.
He said the CBN has also continued to
collaborate with relevant stakeholders in the adoption of payment system
instruments and channels.
The economist said some of the channels
introduced are the bank verification number (BVN), real-time gross settlement
system (RTGS), regulatory sandbox, open banking, and the CBN digital currency
(CBDC), the eNaira.
According to Emefiele, Nigeria is currently
the first country on the continent, and second in the world to have fully
launched a live CBDC.
“The payment system regulation and management
role of the CBN is very critical in the achievement of its primary mandate of
price and monetary stability conducive for inclusive and sustainable economic
growth,” he said.
“It is also important for ensuring a stable,
safe, and efficient financial system in Nigeria.
“Cognisance of the implications of the risks
that accompany digital innovations and technological advancement globally, the
CBN has continued to ensure a healthy balance between the adoption of latest
innovations and development of reliable mitigants to the associated inherent
and operational risks to both the payments system and the rest of the economic
sectors in Nigeria.”
POOR TELECOMS INFRASTRUCTURE, FRAUDSTERS
MAJOR CHALLENGES
Emefiele said the implementation of CBN’s
initiatives in the banking sector has been slow due to several issues in the
industry.
He said the CBN is dealing with weak social
infrastructure, cyber fraud, and unlicensed companies that affect the effective
operation of payment platforms.
The apex bank governor noted that payment is
highly reliant on stable telecommunication networks and power infrastructure.
“These are currently not optimal in Nigeria,
thus, impacting the stability and resilience of the payments system,” he said.
“Some entities have continued to exploit
access to information technology to engage in regulated activities without the
appropriate licenses and authorisation.
“The activities of fraudsters continue to
threaten the resilience of the payment platforms. The confidence of the public
is impacted by these activities.
“However, the collaborative effort between
the CBN and other players in the industry is helping to curtail the nefarious
activities of these fraudsters.”
USING BVN TO MITIGATE CYBER FRUAD
On mitigating cyber fraud and other related
crimes, the CBN governor said integrating the BVN has helped the financial
industry in investigating crimes.
He said incorporating the BVN in
know-your-customer (KYC) requirements, has also helped to ease the constraints
associated with poor identification of banking customers.
“We have continued to support the aggressive
enrollment of prospective banking customers in the informal sector onto the BVN
system,” Emefiele said.
“With a total enrollment of 57,431,355 as at
31st March 2023, the BVN is supporting the development of credit profiles for
banking customers, which will assist in improving access to credit for
credit-worthy borrowers by banks.”
In addition to dealing with challenges posed
by cyber threats, Emefiele said the CBN has put in place the Nigeria Electronic
Fraud forum (NeFF), payment card industry data security standard; financial
industry cybersecurity fusion centre, amongst other initiatives.
“With these initiatives in place, the CBN has
demonstrated irrevocable commitment to ensuring the stability and safety of the
Nigerian payment system,” he added.
“Accordingly, we shall continue to deepen our
oversight of the activities of operators in the payments system as well as
ensure full compliance with regulations. In this regard, examiners and
supervisors would continue to ensure that services delivered by participants
meet required security standards.”
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