Telecoms company Airtel Nigeria has announced its subscribers can now easily access their bank verification number (BVN) from their mobile phones via USSD. This is because of a partnership between the telco and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The bank verification number is a CBN initiative designed with the aim of protecting customers and strengthening the West African country’s banking sector.
ITWebafrica reported that, the deadline for the collection of BVN is 31 October and Airtel has entered what it described as a strategic partnership with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) to allow bank account holders to access their BVN by dialing *565*0#.
The need to ease the process of acquiring the BVN arose when CBN, the country’s apex bank, was forced to extend the deadline for the exercise – this after customers besieged financial institutions across the country to beat the original 30 June deadline.
Announcing the solution, Maurice Newa, Airtel Nigeria’s chief commercial officer, said it is in line with the company’s commitment to provide relevant services that will empower Nigerians.
“We are excited that the NIBSS has chosen to partner with us to deliver real value to Nigerians. At Airtel, we will continue to explore further opportunities to partner with the Nigerian government at different levels,” he said.
The network is charging NGN10 per query for the service.
Posted by Janice Johnson
