Following protests by Nigerians living in the United Kingdom (UK) over the £30 Bank Verification Number (BVN) registration fee, the Nigerian Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) have explained that the amount which roughly adds up to about N11,000 is the cost of the service rendered.

According to the managing director and chief executive of the NIBSS, Mr Ade Shonubi, the company had contracted the gathering of data for the BVN to the company which processes Nigerian Visa applications and passport renewal outside the country, Online Integrated Services (OIS).

He explained that the law in some countries which prevents the data of their nationals from being captured and stored outside their borders makes it hard to gather the necessary data for the BVN.

“Even Nigerian banks in the UK are not allowed to share the data of their customers with their parent banks that are here. It is part of the data privacy rules and laws that they have. So just setting up a desk in any country can get you locked up. So the first thing we considered was what can be done legally and by whom. We did some research to find out who supports the Nigerian embassy in gathering data for visa applications and passport renewal application because by law they are covered and allowed to gather data. It is only under that premise that we can then get them to help us with the BVN and that is how OIS came into being,” he said.

Shonubi noted that the £30 cost, which would be the base cost across the countries, is the cost of service paid to OIS. He explained that “they are not using the same network that they use to capture visa request; they had to set up a separate and secure one for us. They are the ones incurring this cost; there is nothing that comes to us in terms of money. We just told them to recover their cost and they have agreed to go to countries where we don’t even have Nigerian banks.”

OIS is currently situated in eight locations: London, Leicester, Dubai, Beijing, Shanghai, New Delhi, Washington and Guangzhou, according to information on its website. Although the deadline for the BVN registration had been moved to October 31, 2015, by the CBN to allow Nigerians in diaspora register, Shonubi said the NIBSS contract with OIS extends till the end of the year.

He, however, noted that Nigerian banks’ customers who wish to register with OIS will have to book an appointment with the company to do so and explained that this has become necessary after the London Metropolitan Police intervened to restore public peace which was disrupted by customers at the OIS office. A look at the appointment dates on the website of OIS revealed that all the weekends from August till October have already been booked and the only dates available are during the week. He also said that two banks, Diamond Bank and Ecobank, have been given the go ahead to set up desks at their affiliate banks outside the country to gather data. Shonubi noted that Ecobank will be gathering data in the West African region while Diamond Bank will collate data from its affiliates.

Some Nigerian banks’ customers, sad over their plight, had earlier stormed the Nigeria High Commission in London to protest against the directive of the apex bank while some others took to the social media to vent their anger.

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