In a circular released on Friday, Apex Bank stated that, as of April 2024, it has mandated a "Post no Debit" restriction on all bank accounts lacking BVN and NIN.
The statement said, "It becomes necessary to strengthen the Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures in financial institutions under the purview of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as part of its effort to promote financial system stability."
Section 1.5.3 of the Regulatory Framework for Bank Verification Number (BVN) Operations and Watch-list for the Nigerian Banking Industry (The Guidelines) is therefore amended by the CBN in light of this.
"In this regard, having a BVN and/or NIN is required for ALL Tier-1 bank accounts and wallets for individuals.
"Having a BVN and NIN is still required for Tiers 2 and 3 accounts and wallets for individuals."
The CBN further stated that, as of right now, any unfunded Tier-1 account or wallet that does not have a BVN or NIN will be placed on "Post no Debit or Credit" until the new procedure is completed.
It stated that all funded wallets or accounts will be set to "Post no Debit or Credit" on March 1, 2024, and that no more transactions would be allowed.
The Apex Bank further stated that by January 31, 2024, all accounts and wallets must have an electronic validation of the BVN or NIN linked to them.
A Post-No-Debit alert, on the other hand, is a directive that prevents a bank customer from making any transactions on their account, including withdrawals and transfers of money.