Following the successful implementation of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) exercise initiated by the Bankers Committee in Nigeria, the Bank of Ghana has begun the process of adopting the biometric data collection for the financial system.
LEADERSHIP gathered that officials of the Bank of Ghana, which is the apex bank in the West African country had visited the Central Bank of Nigeria to understudy the processes used in implementing the project that lasted about two years.
The BVN which has become a prerequisite in opening or operating a bank account in the country is first of its kind in Africa and was instituted to combat identity theft and reduce fraud in the Nigerian financial system.
Creating a unique identity for each bank customer, the deadline for registration had ended for resident Nigerians last year while bank customers resident outside the country had an extended deadline which elapsed on June 30, 2016.
The CBN had listed 30 centers where Nigerians in diaspora can register for BVN, adding that plans are on to deploy more centers in locations with high Nigerian population. It therefore enjoined Nigerian banks’ customers who are yet to comply to do so before e end of the new deadline.
In the United States of America, centers have been sited in Washington DC, Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and San Fransisco. In the United Kingdom, two centers were sited in London as well a Leicester and Manchester.
There is a center in Dubai of the United Arab Emirates, as well as Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa. There is another center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and three in China, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
In Canada, centers have been cited in Toronto and Vancouver. Centers have also been cited in Paris, France; Rome, Italy; Sau Paulo, Brazil; Kiev, Ukraine and New Delhi, India.
Three centers were set up in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar) and Australia (Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth) each.