CBN to Replace ATM Card Pin with Biometrics

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Plans are underway to replace the use of Personal Identification Number (PIN) for transactions on the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards in Nigeria with biometrics.

According to the Director of Banking and Payment System at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr ‘Dipo Fatokun, this move will reduce the rate of fraud cases attributed to authorised use of ATM cards by a third party.

Mr Fatokun, who is also Chairman of the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF), stated that with biometrics for ATM transactions will make it impossible for a third party to use ATM cards to withdraw funds without the consent of the card owner.

“Your pin and account details are not supposed to be disclosed to third person but as you rightly said, we have some people who are not literate or incapacitated and that makes them to disclosing their details to third party,” he disclosed at the 2017 annual retreat of NeFF in Ibadan, Oyo State last weekend.

Mr Fatokun noted that sharing ATM pin codes ‎with a third party was against the policy of banking sector but could not be avoided in some circumstances especially in situations where the account owner is not literate or incapacitated.

“What we are canvassing is that in a time soon to come, with the BVN in place, biometrics will be used for transactions on ATM,” he stated.

“That means if you want to transact with your ATM, you will need to use your biometrics. There is no way you can give your finger to a third party. If that is enabling, it will make our system to be more secure and make all our transactions to be validated.

“But biometric electronic devices are very expensive because of the technologies involved but I am sure, we shall get there soon,” Mr Fatokun added.