Bank customers want standard policies for dormant accounts
Customers of various banks have called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and banks to introduce a standard policy on the definition of dormant accounts.
Some of the customers who spoke to news anchors in Abuja on Sunday frowned at the different policies and information provided by the CBN and banks on dormant accounts.
Customer Anthony Ogaga said the regulator and banks should reach a compromise on dormant account policies to boost confidence in the sector.
Ogaga said that the CBN had stated in one of its publications that an account could be considered inactive after several years of inactivity.
He said some banks had claimed the opposite, as some would declare an account inactive after six months.
“We have to take this sector seriously. The CBN cannot tell us one thing and our banks will tell us another.”
“The central bank should work closely with banks to enable them to formulate dormant account policies,” he said.
Mrs Chinny Olaedo, a bank customer living abroad, appealed to the CBN to ensure the security of customers’ funds, especially those abroad.
Olaedo said there was a need to provide a standard policy to guide customers who also maintained their Nigerian bank accounts.
Another customer, Mr Emmanuel Yohanna, said that it was not necessary to declare an account dormant unless it was proven that the owner had died.
“Sometimes banks discourage their customers from maintaining their accounts because of the numerous fees.
“Personally, I avoid depositing money into some of my bank accounts because they would deplete my assets,” he said.
Meanwhile, a bank employee who wished to remain anonymous said there must be no activity on an account for six months before it is declared inactive at his bank.
The official said the bank would notify customers whose accounts were inactive in accordance with CBN guidelines.
The source said the bank was preparing reports to also inform the CBN on the status of its inactive customers’ accounts.
Another bank employee, who also preferred anonymity, asked customers whose accounts were inactive to deposit money into them in order to activate them.
In a circular to banks entitled “Management of Dormant Accounts and Unclaimed Financial Assets”, the CBN asked banks to formulate guidelines for the identification and management of dormant accounts and other financial assets.
“Financial institutions must establish effective controls to ensure second-level monitoring and authorization
Reactivation of dormant accounts, among others.
“They must maintain records, including a register of dormant account balances, and transfer balances remaining in the dormant account register for up to ten (10) years to the ‘UBTF Pool Account’,” CBN said. #Bank customers want standard dormant account policy
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