BVN: Nigerians in Diaspora to continue registration till December

Stories by Amaka Ifeakandu
Lagos

With the extension of the deadline for the registration for  Bank Verification Number (BVN), customers of Nigerian banks in Diaspora  who are yet to get the BVN may  spend up to N11,000 to register between now and the end of the year.
Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Mr Ade Shonubi disclosed this in Lagos during an interactive session with journalists at the weekend.

Shonubi said that this amount which translates to about £30 will be the cost of service being paid to OSI Services, a consulting company to the Nigerian Ministry of External Affairs that is collating data for BVN on behalf of NIBSS and Nigerian banks.

He explained that due to the laws in some countries such as the United Kingdom which bars taking of data of its citizens outside the country, it had engaged OSI which currently takes data for the Nigerian government for the purpose of passport renewal.
Although the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had shifted deadline for the BVN registration to October 31, 2015 by to allow Nigerians living outside the country to register, Shonubi said NIBSS contract with OSI Services extends till the end of the year.

He however said that Nigerian banks’ customers who wish to register with OSI will have to book an appointment with OSI to be able to register. He noted that this had become necessary after the London Metropolitan Police had intervened after long queues at the OIS office disrupted traffic.
He also disclosed that two banks, Diamond and Ecobank have been given the go ahead to set up desks at their affiliate banks outside the country to gather data. Shonubi noted that Ecobank will be gathering data in the West African region while Diamond bank will collate data from its affiliates.