The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed commercial banks across the country to obtain the social media handle, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, residential addresses of their customers as part of their Know Your Customer, KYC, requirements.
The apex bank disclosed this in its newly released ‘Central Bank of Nigeria (Customer Due Diligence) Regulations, 2023’ document.
The CBN’s latest move aims to bolster compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) provisions while aligning with international best practices.
It said, “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.”
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.
As part of the requirement, it added, “Type of account and nature of the banking relationship, and signature, and politically exposed person status.
The regulations also emphasise the importance of record-keeping and maintaining up-to-date customer information.
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.