Obtain customers’ social media handles for Identification – CBN mandates banks

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has mandated financial institutions to obtain the social media handles of customers for the purpose of identification.

The apex bank also asked financial institutions to obtain e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and residential addresses, among other things, from customers.

The directive was contained in the new CBN customer due diligence regulations, which it said are aimed at strengthening the identification process in the banking system.

The CBN’s (Customer Due Diligence) Regulations, 2023’ document was published on its website on Friday.

According to the CBN, the new regulation was designed to provide additional customer due diligence measures for financial institutions under its regulatory purview.

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While stating the objective of the regulations, the CBN said it 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.”

The apex Bank added that financial institutions shall not establish or keep anonymous accounts, numbered accounts, or accounts in fictitious names.