GTBank, Lagos

By Taiwo Adelu.

There are strong indications that depositors in Nigerian banks will still have the opportunity of having access to their accounts after the deadline of the registration for the Bank Verification Numbers (BVN).

The deadline given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ended Saturday, 31 October and there has been fear that depositors may lose their accounts for not meeting up with the deadline.

However, an email sent across to its customers early on Monday by GT Bank shows that though the accounts of customers would be restricted, it will be temporary; this will be lifted as soon as such customers do their BVN registration or show proof of doing same.

The bank notifies its customers that BVN is still ongoing across its branches nationwide after the deadline.

The email reads thus:
Temporary Restriction of Your Account

“In line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) directive that all accounts without Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) belonging to customers resident in Nigeria, should be restricted from debit transactions, please note that this category of GTBank accounts without BVNs have been restricted from debit transactions effective Sunday, November 1, 2015.

“As a result of this, your account with us has been classified as having inadequate KYC and can only receive Transfers and Deposits. Payments or cash withdrawals from such accounts have been restricted.

“Please note that your account with us is still valid as the restriction placed on your account is temporary, and will be automatically removed once you enrol for your BVN at any of our branches nationwide or link a BVN to your account.

“BVN enrolment will continue in all our branches nationwide after the 31st of October 2015 deadline.

“If you are a non-resident customer and you have received this email, kindly call our 24-hour contact center, GTConnect to update your information. BVN enrolment for non-resident Nigerian customers has been extended to 31, January 2016.

“Please remember that if you have obtained your BVN from another Nigerian bank or an offshore enrolment center, you can link it to your GTBank account using our Internet Banking platform, Corporate Website and all GTBank ATMs nationwide.

“GTBank will never call you or send you a link in an email asking you to update your information or connect to the GTBank Internet Banking portal.”