The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has directed all Financial Institutions in the country to procure the social media handles, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and residential addresses, of their customers.
This directive is a part of the new customer due diligence regulations, aiming to considerably deepen the identification process in the banking system.
This news was disclosed by the apex bank via its newly released ‘Central Bank of Nigeria (Customer Due Diligence) Regulations, 2023’ document.
The document reveals that the CBN’s new regulation was designed to provide additional customer due diligence measures for financial (banking) institutions under its regulatory purview.
Under its customer identification column, the banking regulator stated that financial institutions must identify their customer (whether permanent or occasional, and whether natural or legal persons or legal arrangements) and procure the following information:
For Individuals: a legal name is required, along with a permanent address, residential address, telephone number, e-mail address, social media handle; date and place of birth, a Bank Verification Number, BVN, Tax Identification Number, nationality, occupation, public position held, and the name of employer.
Furthermore, an individual wishing to have an account in any of the banking institutions in the country is mandated to have an unexpired passport, national identification card, residence permit, social security records, or driver’s license.
Some of the above listed requirements have already been obtained from the individuals as at the time of them opening an account. The newer obligations to be met include the social media handles of bank users.
One cannot help but wonder the need for a financial institution to possess the social media handle of its customers. Is this an attempt by the Federal Government through the CBN to regulate/monitor the posts of its customers?
