Business

CBN Urges Banks to Obtain Customers’ Social Media Handles For easy Identification

Published

3 years ago

June 24, 2023

711 Views

All Financial institutions across the country have been mandated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to obtain the social media handles of customers for the purpose of identification.

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

This is contained in the new CBN customer due diligence regulations aimed at further strengthening the identification process in the banking system.

These regulations shall apply to all financial institutions under the purview of the CBN, as noted in the document.

The apex bank published the ‘Central Bank of Nigeria (Customer Due Diligence) Regulations, 2023’ document 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.

The objective of the regulations the apex bank noted includes, “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, under its customer identification column, said financial institutions must identify their customers (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 also noted that an individual must have “an official personal identification number or other unique identifier contained in an unexpired document issued by a government agency that bears the name, photograph, and signature of the customer, such as a passport, national identification card, residence permit, social security records, or drivers’ license.”

Part of the requirement includes “Type of account and nature of the banking relationship, and signature, and politically exposed person status.

The regulator also maintained that financial institutions shall not establish or keep anonymous accounts, numbered accounts, or accounts in fictitious names.

Related Topics:CBN Customers Featured Social Media Handles

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Business

Dangote Cement Shelves $18 billion Listing On LSE

Its shares will remain listed on the Nigerian Exchange, and the decision will not affect its operations or business plans.

Published

2 hours ago

November 11, 2026

OCHEFA

37 Views

Dangote Cement Plc has abandoned plans for a secondary listing of $18 billion on the London Stock Exchange and preferring to keep its shares exclusively on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).

The decision , according to the company is because the LSE has been struggling to attract major new listings as companies increasingly reconsider their presence on the UK bourse.

In May this year , Aliko Dangote said that he was holding early discussions about a potential London listing.

The move would have given the company access to a broader pool of international investors and additional sources of capital.

However, the company said on Tuesday that it had abandoned the plan, citing market conditions and strategic priorities. Its shares will remain listed on the Nigerian Exchange, and the decision will not affect its operations or business plans.

Business

I sold heavy weapons internationally – Orji Kalu

“Yes, so I stopped because my parents, my mother, my father came and said I must stop, and I stopped,” he said.

Published

1 day ago

November 10, 2026

OCHEFA

72 Views

The Senator representing Abia North, Orji Kalu, has disclosed that he previously engaged in the international trade of heavy weapons, selling arms to buyers in different countries before quitting the business at the insistence of his parents.

Kalu made the revelation during an interview on Arise Television on Monday, while discussing his business background and relationships with former and current South African leaders.

Asked whether he was an arms dealer, the former Abia State governor answered in the affirmative, saying he stopped after his parents intervened.

“Yes, so I stopped because my parents, my mother, my father came and said I must stop, and I stopped,” he said.

Asked whether he sold weapons to people who intended to use them to kill others, Kalu dismissed the suggestion, saying his motivation was to make money.

“No, no, no, no, no, no. I was selling guns to make money, whether they blow up it’s not my business,” he said