TheCable

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it had finalised the guidelines for Nigerians abroad to enroll for the Bank Verification Number (BVN).

Dipo Fatokun, the director in charge of banking and payment system department, said in a statement on Wednesday that CBN had provided the guidelines to enable Nigerian bank customers living outside the country to register the BVN without having to travel back home.

The registration will be done by foreign-based Nigerian banks and an online integrated solution (OIS) consultant.

Customers are required to go to the bank where their bio data would be taken, BVN generated and communicated to their various banks.

On the second option, involving the use of a consultant, the customer will pay the equivalent of £30 to the OIS consultant.

“`The company is expected to capture necessary data for online transmission to Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System ( NIBSS), which would thereafter generate the BVN and communicate same to the customer.

“The customer may approach OIS for the BVN, where the communication from NIBSS is not received within 48 hours after the enrollment.

“Thereafter, Nigerian banks’ customers in the Diaspora are expected to forward their BVN to their banks for linkage with their accounts,” Fatokun said.

The plan for the use of a consultant would roll out in 12 locations in the first phase.

It named the locations as London, Leicester, New York, Atlanta, Washington DC, Houston, Johannesburg, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Dubai and New Delhi.

The second phase would include locations with a high demand for service based on line feedback.

The CBN said remote locations with lower concentrations of Nigerians would be accommodated through scheduled sessions for defined periods.