The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed over the weekend, that as part of efforts towards getting the financially excluded into the financial System and increase the rate of financial inclusion, the Bank Verification Number (BVN) is to be classified in to two.
The classifications are lite and premium.
The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele said this on Saturday at the end of the 11th bankers’ committee retreat in Ogun State.
“There are people who are currently financially excluded, like people in our rural communities that carry phones, but not having financial services. With the collaboration of NCC, we are putting this BVN arrangement to allow them conduct minimal financial services”.
He said this people can be migrated into the BVN lite class where they can conduct minimal financial services, not just banking services, but minimal financial services, insurance and anything they want to conduct in terms of finance whether e-payment, or anything, with the aid of their phones.
“BVN Lite has a limit to the kind of transactions you can do in terms of deposit and in terms of loans”, he said.
There are about 40 million people on the BVN platform.
The CBN governor also disclosed plans to invest in security operation center which will serve as a gateway for banks and security agencies against internet and cyber-attacks.
While noting that Cyber risk is growing in different parts of the world, he said the banks, the CBN and government need to do something about it. The banks must invest massively to reduce cyber-attack which is critical to promoting the digital economy that Nigerians deserve. He also said the bankers’ committee has agreed to put in place measures such as panic alert to mitigate cyber-attacks.
The CBN, have all along been issuing different guidelines and frameworks on how the banks and the country can combat the incidence of cyber-attacks which in any case will continue for the banks not to lose money or for depositors funds not to be lost by any bank if there is to be an attack
