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BVN: NIBSS partners foreign firm for Nigerians abroad

By on July 29, 2015

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc says it has collaborated with a foreign company, Online Integrated Solutions, to enable it carry out a biometric registration of Nigerians in the Diaspora.

The Managing Director, NIBSS, Mr. Ade Shonubi, who stated this in Lagos, said there was no way the organisation could execute the Bank Verification Number project overseas without engaging a foreign firm.

He cited countries’ data privacy laws as the reason.

Shonubi said, “We would like to clarify how we arrived at Online Integrated Solutions. You need to understand that in many countries, the law actually prevents data of their nationals from being captured and stored outside their borders. The United Kingdom has this rule, United States has the same rule. The 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 getting up and saying you are setting up a desk in any country to enrol people can get you locked up. So, the first thing we considered was what can be done and by who legally?

“And we did some research to find out who supports the Nigerian embassies in gathering data for visa application, passports renewals and application. By law they are covered and allowed to gather that data.”

On how the cost of £30 was arrived at for the registration exercise, Shonubi said the fee did not belong to the NIBSS but the company rendering the service.

He stressed that partnering a foreign firm to do the job was more practical than the agency setting up its infrastructure overseas to do it.

The NIBSS boss explained, “Somehow, we arrived at £30 because a lot of the things the company will be using are not the same. They are not using the same application they use when capturing visa request. They are not using the same network; they have to set up a separate and secure one for us as it is. So they are the ones incurring cost. They are not paying us kobo; there’s nothing to come to us in any shape, form or manner. We are only saying recover your cost.”

He added that that the OIS had also agreed to go to countries where Nigerians banks do not exist.

According to him, plans are already in place for China, India and two locations in the United States.

Shonubi said Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and Diamond Bank Plc had indicated interest to commence the exercise, adding that the Central Bank of Nigeria had encouraged Nigerian banks with overseas presence to do so without contravening the laws of their host countries.

 

[Punch]