On Wednesday, the Federal Executive Council gave a green light to a proposal from Nigeria's National Identity Management Commission that will allow banks to print debit cards with built-in identity documents.
The minister of Communication and Digital Economy Prof. Isa Pantami told State House Correspondents after Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting at the Aso Rock Villa that, “It is going to be a form of 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,”
Pantami said that although the National Identification Number Act of 2007 only mandates Nigerians to have a national identity number, demand for printout cards has risen nonetheless.
He explained that “As in the NIMC Act 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.
“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, 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.”
The minister revealed that the NIMC and the CBN signed a non-disclosure agreement to protect the privacy and confidentiality of card applicants.
“NIMC and the central bank signed a non-disclosure agreement where your privacy and your confidentiality must be respected in the course of providing the card for you".
“When you apply for the card, the bank will apply online to the NIMC through their database. When they verify and confirm that your record in the database is in alignment with your record in NIMC database, it will be permitted and the card is going to be printed for you immediately,” the outgoing minister told journalists.
