One-stop mobile-based payment platform, OPay, has vowed to remove accounts without Bank Verification Number (BVN) and/or National Identification Number (NIN), effective from March 1, 2024.

This is coming on the heels of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) new directives on Know-Your-Customer (KYC), mandating all accounts and wallets for individuals to have BVN and/or NIN before March 1, 2024. CBN also directed that, no new accounts or wallets should be opened without BVN or NIN.

The director, Card Business, OPay, Priscilla Olayemi, at a media parley on Wednesday, in Lagos, averred that, OPay, in adhering to these new directives, has commenced the first two stages of the KYC.

Explaining further, Olayemi stated that, users under tier one account, cannot login to carry. out financial transactions without providing their BVN or NIN. ‘As for new account, we demand for BVN or NIN, during the registration stage,’ she added.

The director, partnerships, OPay, I.K Odiase posited that any fraudulent account will be removed from OPay platform, beginning March 1, 2024, while pleading with OPay customers to confirm that the information provided while opening their accounts matches the information in their NIN and BVN. “We are adhering strictly to CBN’s instructions. Accounts whose information differs from the BVN/NIN submitted at registration will be terminated,” Odiase affirmed.

Regarding the impact of the new directives on financial inclusion, Odiase is worried that the directives may somewhat regress financial inclusion policy.

“This is because we initially did not list NIN and BVN as requirements for opening an account with us because one of our missions is to promote financial inclusion. However, it will be challenging to include those in rural areas, such as farmers and artisans, who might not see the need to register their BVN and NIN, in light of these new regulations from our regulator.

“But we are hopeful that eventually, almost every Nigerian will have BVN and NIN. The good news is that we will now know who to deal with when it comes to addressing the issue of fraud in the Fintech sector, thanks to the new directives,” Odiase added.

On security, head of marketing and communications, OPay, Adekunle Adeyemi said, OPay is sensitising its customers periodically, through in-app messages and social media platforms, for them to be fraud aware. “We understand that inasmuch as we have put the necessary security infrastructure in place, fraudsters are also improving their games, so we try to consistently improve on what we do and more importantly sensitize our customers.

“Beyond putting infrastructure in place that ensure our platform is secured, we have the USSD codes that customer can dial, if they feel their accounts are compromised. For instance, if your phone was stolen, there are numbers you can dial that will prevent anyone from getting access to the account. The objective is to ensure that regardless the situation, our customers are adequately protected,” Adeyemi averred.

Culled from Daily Times Nigeria