The Banking System in Nigerian will commence the implementation of biometric authentication of all bank customers by 14th February 2014.
CEOAFRICA news desk gathered that over $50 million has been estimated for this project which bank customers will only need to be identified by their fingerprints and unlike the system currently in use, be given identification that cannot be changed.
Meanwhile, the biometric project is said to be awarded to a German firm, Dermalog and Chams, in a deal that was signed on Tuesday between it and the bankers committee which is chaired by the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Governor of the CBN, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi moreover disclosed that the cost of the entire project would be borne by the banks and the CBN.
At the contract signing in Abuja, Sanusi noted that it had become necessary for the Nigerian banking system to kick-start a formidable process that would further help in its Know Your Customer (KYC) initiative and create an identification data base.
Sanusi explained that the whole idea was to start a whole process that would lead to the banking industry collaborating and paying for one single biometric data base that would serve the purpose of helping with authentication, dealing with KYC, money laundering, fraud, credit extension as well as financial inclusion issues.
He pointed out that the biometric project is “transformational and revolutionary”, adding that it is the final building block for the transformation of the payment system.
