Banks to categorise customers’ BVNs into Premium, Lite

In a bid to bring more Nigerians with no bank accounts into the banking system, the Bankers’ Committee has concluded plans to categorise Bank Verifications Number (BVN) into Premium and Lite.

At its 11th meeting which ended on Saturday in Ogere, Ogun State, the bank chiefs also disclosed plans to begin an estimated N25 billion renovation work on the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, in January 2020.

Addressing newsmen at the end of the two-day meeting, the CBN governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, explained that those categorised under the BVN Lite will have a limit to the kind of transactions they can do in terms of deposit, withdrawals and  loans.

According to him, with about 40 million people on the BVN platform, the committee believes that the benefits of the BVN to bank customers and the economy, necessitated the need to consolidate and move BVN to a new level.

“This entails, for instance, to reclassify and segregate transactions that could be done on BVN. We have two classifications. The existing BVN that we have in the system, categorised as Premium has about 18 lines of information. The BVN Lite will have less bio-information requirements like the telephone line.

“The important thing is that we want to make you financially included where you can conduct basic banking service. Our people in the rural communities who have BVN Lite will later be migrated to basic,” he said.

Explaining the difference between the reclassification and the Know Your Customer (KYC) concept, the governor said the KYC is part of what will be integrated into the BVN Lite.

Emefiele noted that with the collaboration of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the banks are putting the BVN arrangement to allow them conduct minimal financial services.

“The BVN Lite arrangement is where they can conduct minimal financial services, not just banking services, but minimal financial services, insurance and anything you want to conduct in terms of finance whether e-payment, or anything, you can do it with the aid of your phone.

“Now as you bring them into the financial system, what it will do is that it will help to increase our rate of financial inclusion and reduce exclusion rate,” Emefiele stated.

On the National Theatre, the CBN governor observed that at some global meetings like the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund, there are no fewer than 100,000 people attending wihtin a period of one week. This, according to him, means that hotel business, foreign exchange earnings and tourism business are boosted by that.

“When you have an international conference holding in a place like the International Art Theatre, tourism is boosted. Nigerians should please work with us to see to the redevelopment of this asset,” he stated.

Emefiele further emphasised that the bankers’ committee has a presidential approval that confers on it the power to redevelop the National Arts Theatre.

“What the Bankers Committee is doing is to help revive a dead asset or an asset that is dying that is not currently not well-maintained; that is not able to generate its potential earning and revenue as a result of paucity of funds and good maintenance,” the CBN governor said.