The Central Bank of Nigeria in its recent Customer Due Diligence Regulations 2023 mandated Financial Institutions to obtain their customer’s social media handle, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, residential addresses, among others.
The new regulation from the apex bank aims to further deepen the identification process in the banking system.
It said the new regulations will complement the relevant provisions of the CBN AML, CFT and CPF Regulations on customer due diligence measures and additional customer due diligence measures for specific customers and activities
The CBN stated that its new regulation was created to provide additional customer due diligence measures for financial institutions under its regulatory purview.
It noted, that new regulation is “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.
“And enable the CBN to enforce compliance with customer due diligence measures in line with the CBN anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CFT) and Countering Proliferation Financing (CPF) Regulations.”
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 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.”
It further noted that an individual must have any of an unexpired passport, national identification card, residence permit, social security records, or driver’s license.
It further stated that the customer’s “Type of account and nature of the banking relationship, and signature, and politically exposed person status.
Under the new regulation, the CBN said that Financial institutions must retain records obtained through customer due diligence measures, account files, business correspondence, and analysis results for at least five years after the termination or cessation of a business relationship or an occasional transaction.
Regular reviews of existing customer records are required based on risk categories, with high-risk customers requiring annual reviews, medium-risk customers requiring reviews every 18 months, and low-risk customers requiring reviews every three years.
Download the new regulation here.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.