Bank Customers Will Now Transact Business With Fingerprints – CBN Governor

                                          
The Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday inaugurated the biometric registration of bank customers and declared that after 18 months of the exercise, bank customers would not be able to do any transaction without their fingerprints.  The Governor, CBN, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, who launched the biometric registration exercise at the CBN head office in Lagos on behalf of the Bankers’ Committee, said the development represented a milestone in the nation’s financial system and economy in general.
He said the new biometric registration which will lead to the issuing of Bank Verification Number, a unique identity for every bank customer, would help to mitigate fraud, money laundering and other vices in the country. We have launched the Bank Verification Number today, the timetable suggests that within 18 months, every customer would have been registered.  This is a day that we would remember for many reasons, not for where we are but where we are likely to get from here. Nobody can steal this identity except he or she steals my fingers. After the deadline, if you don’t register, you cannot do any transaction with the bank,” Sanusi said. The CBN governor said, “This is a major development that protects you from fraud, fights money laundering, cyber crime and fraud. It is a unique customer identity. With this, you have your data. Every Nigerian bank has access to the data. Every microfinance bank has access to the data. Every financial institution has access to the data. According to Sanusi, the biometric registration exercise will help bank customers such that they may not need to use many ATM cards any more. Punch Nigeria