The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revised the standard on Nigeria Uniform Bank Account Number (NUBAN) for commercial banks, extending it to Other Financial Institutions (OFIs).

A circular issued by the apex bank to all deposit money banks and OFIs, said the extension of the NUBAN to OFIs will take effect from April 20, 2020, “with a deadline of March 15, 2021 for full compliance, after which appropriate sanctions would be imposed for contraventions and non-compliance.”

The circular read that in furtherance of its mandate for the development of electronic payments system in Nigeria, CBN issued the Revised Standards on Nigeria Uniform Bank Account Number (NUBAN) for banks and other financial institutions, “for the efficient operations of electronic funds transfer and cheque clearing operations by DMBs and OFIs.

“The CBN first issued the NUBAN Standards in August 2010, to achieve uniform customer bank account numbering structure among all DMBs in Nigeria. ln View of the success of the NUBAN Standards across DMBs and the increasing role of the OFls in the Electronic Payments System, it is imperative that the scope of the Standards be expanded to include the OFls.

“It is in this regard that the Revised Standards on Nigeria Uniform Bank Account Number (NUBAN) Scheme for banks in Nigeria was revised to include the OFls.’’