The Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday directed commercial banks to bar customers without Bank Verification Numbers and National Identity Numbers from having access to their accounts from March 2024 by putting a “post no debit” restriction on such accounts.

However, bankers told Saturday PUNCH that the directive would likely lead to a rush by desperate customers to regularise their accounts in the coming weeks and months, adding that this would put pressure on employees to register the customers for the BVN, while the National Identity Management Commission offices and centres would face a similar situation for the NIN registration.

A senior official of a Tier-1 bank in Lagos told one of our correspondents that the directive would sanitise the industry although it would exert considerable pressure on the banks.

The official said, “Many customers are careless by ignoring the directive to link their BVN to their accounts. With the directive of the CBN, they will now be rushing to get their BVN so that their accounts will not be frozen.

“The truth is that many banks will find it difficult to cope with the anticipated rush as we have lost several key employees to the Japa syndrome. Besides, the banks had embarked on staff rationalisation to keep the operating expenses low.”

A branch manager of a new generation bank, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said if the rush of customers without BVN and NIN was much, the lender would have no choice but to extend the working hours for its employees and might consider working on Saturdays and Sundays to clear the backlog.

This, he noted, would put pressure on the already stressed employees, adding that it could also lead to naira scarcity.

However, a corporate communications manager of an old-generation bank, who pleaded not to be identified, said his institution was ready to deal with anything that the apex bank’s directive would throw up, adding that technology was making the work of bankers easier.

The ‘Post No Debit’ is a term used to describe a restriction imposed by banks on specific accounts, preventing customers from making withdrawals, transfers, or debits from their accounts.

This measure effectively freezes the funds in the account, rendering them inaccessible for the duration of the restriction.

The CBN directive was contained in a circular issued to all Deposit Money Banks on Friday.

The circular with reference PSM/DIR/PUB/CIR/001/053 was jointly signed by the Director, Payments System Management Department, Chibuzo Efobi, and Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Haruna Mustapha.