The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, claims that dormant accounts are more vulnerable to fraud.
Cardoso, speaking at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee‘s (MPC) 296th meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, stated that financial institutions have consistently encountered challenges with these accounts.
On July 19, the CBN asked banks and other financial institutions to deposit unclaimed balances and cash from dormant accounts into the apex bank account.
Cardoso stated that the strategy tries to keep such funds safe.
He said:
“Over the years, in my experience, what I found personally is that if you leave accounts dormant in banks, sometimes, more than when you do not leave them dormant in banks, they are more susceptible to fraudsters.”
“Copying your identity and trying to gain the system to grab hold of your money. That is a problem that most money banks face and I am sure if you have been on the receiving end, then you will know that anything that can protect you in the process from these kinds of predators would be welcome.
“The policy and the directive is meant to ensure that all those monies come to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for safekeeping.”
Cardoso said owners of such accounts would not lose their monies and it is at “zero cost to the beneficiaries”.
“All that will happen is that the central bank will manage the monies within our position and when the rightful owner surfaces, the money is returned plus whatever income is accrued to you.”
The CBN governor stated that the policy should be a positive move, “even for naysayers,” because the central bank thinks that everyone should be able to accumulate and keep every penny that is properly theirs.
Cardoso noted that losing money to fraud will increase liquidity.