Investors praise CBN on acceptance of cheque into savings account directive

Investors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) have been showering praises on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the decision to allow cheque payment into saving account with banks.

Alhaji Gbadebo Olatokunbo, shareholder activist and co-founder of Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA), in a statement made available to Business247 News Online praises the CBN for the proactive step.

According to him, “Kudos to CBN on this new directive that will also affect the payment of dividend into bank savings account, since dividend-warrants were treated like bank-cheques and thereby assist in the reduction of unclaimed-dividend problems.

“It is on record that most retail investors (shareholders) are savings account holders and several weren’t in a position to meet the requirement for the opening of current account with the banks, which had contributed mostly to the ever increasing of the unclaimed-dividend.

“We hope that the regulatory agencies will ensure that the Registrars would abide by the CBN on this new directive by accepting e-dividend mandate of shareholders with bank savings account”. He concluded.

The apex bank on Tuesday released four new guidelines for the banking industry, top of which was an approval for bank customers to make cheque deposits into their savings accounts.

Prior to this development, bank customers could only make cheque deposits into their current accounts.

The new guidelines were contained in a circular posted on the CBN website and signed by the Director, Banking and Payment System, Mr. Dipo Fatokun. The circular, which was directed to banks and other financial institutions, was dated July 28, 2016.

Aside from this approval, the CBN also ordered banks and other financial institutions to remove fixed interest rate on credit cards.

The central bank directed the banks to henceforth begin to embed customers’ Bank Verification Numbers on their payment cards.

It also ordered the banks to discontinue actual address verification as a condition for account opening for customers with the BVN.

In approving cheque deposits into savings accounts, the apex bank limited the daily deposit to only N2m per customer in a day.

The CBN said the new guidelines were meant to strengthen the payment system and the banking sector.

The circular, with reference number BPS/DIR/GEN?CIR/03/005, read, “The Central Bank of Nigeria, in furtherance of its efforts at strengthening the Nigerian payment system, hereby issues the following directives: the removal of fixed interest on credit cards; and discontinuation of actual address verification in account openings for customers with the Bank Verification Number.

“Banks should begin to embed the BVN on all payment cards issued henceforth to facilitate off-line BVN verification and biometric-based customer authentication in such payment devices as the Automated Teller Machines, Point of Sale Terminal, kiosks etc.

“Savings account customers with the BVN should be allowed to deposit cheques not more than N2m in value into their savings account per, customer per day. Please, be guided and ensure strict compliance with the content of this circular.”