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The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a directive to all financial institutions to collect the social media handles, residential addresses, and Bank Verification Number (BVN) of their customers, along with other vital information such as e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and places of birth.
This new regulation, outlined in the ‘Central Bank of Nigeria (Customer Due Diligence) Regulations, 2023’ document, is aimed at strengthening the identification process in the banking system and ensuring compliance with relevant provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act (MLPPA), 2022, Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act (TPPA), 2022, and international best practices.
Financial institutions must identify their customers and obtain information such as legal name, permanent and residential addresses, telephone number, e-mail address, social media handle, date and place of birth, Bank Verification Number, Tax Identification Number, nationality, occupation, public position held, and name of employer.
The CBN also requires individuals to provide at least one form of identification such as an unexpired passport, national identification card, residence permit, social security records, or driver’s license.
Additionally, the type of account and nature of the banking relationship, signature, and politically exposed person status must be stated.
The CBN said, “To provide additional customer due diligence measures for financial institutions under the regulatory purview of the Central Bank of Nigeria to further their compliance with relevant provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act (MLPPA), 2022, Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act (TPPA), 2022, Central Bank of Nigeria (Anti-Money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Countering Proliferation Financing of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Financial Institutions) Regulations, 2022 (CBN AML, CFT and CPF Regulations) and international best practices.
“Under its customer identification column, financial institutions must identify their customer (whether permanent or occasional, and whether natural or legal persons or legal arrangements) and obtain the following information:
“For Individuals — legal name and any other names used (such as maiden name), permanent address (full physical address), residential address (where the customer can be located), telephone number, e-mail address, and social media handle; date and place of birth, Bank Verification Number, Tax Identification Number, nationality, occupation, public position held, and name of employer.”
