Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has expressed worry about the susceptibility of inactive bank accounts to fraudulent activity.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday after the two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, Cardoso stated that the benchmark interest rate had increased by 50 basis points to 26.75%.
He clarified that accounts that are left idle for long periods of time are frequently easy targets for identity theft and unauthorised access by scammers.
In its new “Guidelines on Management of Dormant Accounts, Unclaimed Balances, and Other Financial Assets in Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria,” released last week, the CBN declared its intention to allocate funds from dormant accounts, unclaimed balances, and other financial assets into Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) and other government securities.
In compliance with these directives, the CBN would set up a committee to supervise the management of unclaimed balances and form a “Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund (UBTF) Pool Account” to hold unclaimed amounts. This committee will set rules, oversee adherence, oversee finances, and deal with grievances and claims.
According to the criteria, Premium Times reported that accounts with dormant balances that have been idle for ten years or longer are eligible for transfer to the CBN.
These accounts include government-owned accounts, prepaid card accounts and wallets, domiciliary accounts, deposits for shares and mutual funds, term, current, and savings deposits in local currency, and revenues from uncleared financial instruments.
Others include unpaid salary, wages, commissions, bonuses, earnings from stale drafts, and money received from correspondent banks that lack clear recipient information, according to the apex bank.
TimesNow.com.ng earlier reported that the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System revealed financial institutions suffered approximately N17.67 billion in losses due to fraud in 2023.
This was revealed in the NIBSS’ Annual Fraud Landscape report (January to December 2023) published on its website.
Established in 1993, NIBSS facilitates same-day clearing and settlement of inter-bank transfers and payments.
Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at TimesNow.com.ng.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
