OPay to deactivate accounts not linked to BVN 

Opay, a Nigerian fintech company during an interactive session with the media, announced that customers who are non-compliant with the Know Your Customer (KYC) directive of NIN-BVN linkage of tier-1 accounts will be inactivated from carrying out transactions from March 1st. 2024.

Olayemi Precilia, director of cards business, said, ” We are simply following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive for Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures in financial institutions. The electronic revalidation process will ensure that the Bank Verification Number (BVN) or National Identification Number (NIN) is linked to all accounts.

“This measure has been upgraded to our platform, to ensure that users can seamlessly update the necessary information needed by them for proper security measures to be put in place.”

According to Olayemi, customers who fail to update their accounts with their BVN or NIN requirement will be restricted from transactions starting from March 1, 2024.

Opay’s Director of Partnerships Ikponmwosa Kolawole Odiase, noted that this process is aimed at removing fake accounts from the system.

He further said that OPay has extended this requirement to all account openings both old and new. Making NIN a mandatory prerequisite he said, “Everyone who has a tier one account must now link with NIN before their transaction can continue. You cannot move forward without doing it.”

Also Read: NCC directs telcos to bar sims without NIN

For new customers, he said, “We are pulling information from your NIN into your wallet. We save you the trouble of typing your name. We have a timeline of March 1st, wherein anybody not compliant will be locked out.”

During the conference, the fintech company highlighted its distinguished security features, underscoring that its platform adheres to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) which is designed to reduce payment card fraud by increasing security controls around cardholder data.

“Beyond our infrastructure that allows our platform and cards to be very secure, we have our USSD codes that customers can dial in events of an issue, the objective is to ensure that regardless of any incident of phone/ card loss or theft, our customers are adequately protected,” Adekunle Adeyemi, head, marketing, and communications at OPay, said.

Going forward, OPay plans to establish an online customer service platform, enabling customers to engage in live chat conversations with customer service agents. This initiative aims to provide a seamless and interactive experience, addressing the diverse needs of our users across various activities.

Buisinessday/Chidimma Gold