The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has mandated financial institutions to include social media in their Know Your Customer (KYC) applications. This new directive means that the social media handles of bank customers etc. should be obtained for identification.
The directive is contained in the apex bank document: the ‘Central Bank of Nigeria (Customer Due Diligence) Regulations, 2023’, published on its website on Friday.
According to the document, financial institutions are required to obtain email addresses, telephone numbers, and residential addresses, among other things, from customers.
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The new KYC exercise under the CBN’s customer due diligence regulations is designed to further strengthen the identification process in the banking system.
The financial sector said the new regulation was designed to provide additional customer due diligence measures for financial institutions under its regulatory purview.
The key objective of the new regulation is to enforce compliance with relevant provisions of the laws designed to checkmate money laundering and terrorism financing.
The document published by the CBN said the aim of the 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 AML, CFT, and CPF Regulations.”
This is the first time a Nigerian regulator is mandating the use of social media accounts as means of identification.”
The CBN said under its customer identification column, financial institutions must identify their customers (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.”
In addition, the apex bank said that an individual must have “an official personal identification number or other unique identifier contained in an unexpired document issued by a government agency that bears the name, photograph, and signature of the customer, such as a passport, national identification card, residence permit, social security records, or drivers’ license.”
The regulator said financial institutions are required to include “Type of account and nature of the banking relationship, and signature, and politically exposed person status.”
The regulatory body further emphasized that financial institutions are prohibited from creating or maintaining anonymous accounts, numbered accounts, or accounts under fictitious names.
These regulations are applicable to all financial institutions under the supervision of the Central Bank of Nigeria, as specified in the document.