Jonathan Nwokpor
In order to combat fraud, the Central Bank of Nigeria, through its Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, has instructed banks to move all dormant accounts and unclaimed funds to a specialised account.
During a press conference on Tuesday following the two-day 296th Monetary Policy Committee Meeting in Abuja, Cardoso revealed this information.
Recall that Apex Bank declared last week that it will establish and oversee an account known as the “Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund (UBTF) Pool Account” to hold unclaimed amounts in addition to issuing new rules to the bank about dormant accounts.
The bank’s chief executive provided additional details about the strategy, stating that unclaimed and dormant accounts are more vulnerable to fraudulent activity.
He stated, “Concerning dormant accounts, what I found personally is if you leave accounts dormant in banks, sometimes more than when you don’t leave them dormant in banks. Most times, they are more susceptible to fraudsters copying your identity and trying to gain hold of the system to grab your money. So, that is a problem I think most money banks face”
The purpose of the policy directive, he explained, regarding dormant accounts and unclaimed balances is to guarantee that the money reaches the Central Bank for safety and at no cost to the recipients.
“The policy and the directive are meant to ensure that all those monies come to the Central Bank for safekeeping and it is at zero cost to the beneficiaries. All that will happen is that the central bank will manage the money within our possession and when the rightful owner surfaces, the money is returned plus whatever income is accrued to you.”
In the meantime, CBN excluded dormant and unclaimed accounts that are under limitation and less than ten years old in accordance with the revised policy.
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