The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has adopted a new policy that allows commercial banks to issue debit cards that also serve as national identity cards to consumers at no additional cost.
The clearance was given by the council on Wednesday during a meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Isa Pantami, minister of communication and digital economy, told journalists after the meeting that the instruction came from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), allowing banks to issue debit cards that also serve as national identity cards.
“It is going to be a form of the multipurpose card where it will serve as your national identity card on one hand, and also your bank card on the other hand, either Mastercard, Visa or any other kind of card,” the minister said.
Pantami stated that, despite the fact that the NIMC Act of 2007 merely requires Nigerians to have a NIN and not necessarily a printed card, demand for cards has increased.
“As in the NIMC Act of 2007, section 27, what is mandatory for our citizens and legal residents is the acquiring of the national identity number, not the card. However, the card is optional,” Pantami added.
“But many citizens, particularly those living in rural communities, always go to NIMC offices complaining that they need the card at hand, even though it’s optional.
“To make it easier, NIMC last year, we introduced a smart ID card you can download from the NIMC app. It is just a smart card. You don’t need to have it physically, but that is becoming difficult for our people living in rural communities.
“To ease the difficulty, NIMC has partnered with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) so citizens who are interested in having a card at hand can easily go to the relevant banks.
“The bank is permitted to print the card along with either a Mastercard or Visa card. It is going to be a form of a multipurpose card that will serve as your national identity card on one hand and also your bank card on the other. And based on the agreement, it is without any additional costs to our citizens.
“So when you apply for a card at your bank, you can indicate that ‘I want this card to serve multiple purposes where it will serve as my bank card and also my national identity card’.
“Both of them are going to be printed on the same card and it is going to serve the same purposes without any additional costs.”
The minister further stated that the NIMC and the CBN have inked an agreement to safeguard card applicants.
He stated that the two companies signed a nondisclosure agreement in which clients’ privacy and confidentiality must be safeguarded while supplying the cards.
“When you apply for the card, the bank will apply online to NIMC through their database.
“When they verify and confirm that your record in the database is in alignment with your record in the NIMC database, it will be permitted and the card is going to be printed for you immediately,” Pantami explained.
