FG To Ban Use Of SMS In Banking Transactions

Federal government may soon outlaw sending of vital bank details via short message services (SMS) in Nigeria because of its associated risks.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said it was already engaging with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to find better ways of doing it.

Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, made this known at the consumer conversation held in Minna, Niger State capital, adding that the commission was already engaging with the CBN to find ways to ensure that mobile phone users’ vital information relating to their bank accounts and financial transactions were not jeopardised should their phones get lost or stolen.

Director and the Head of Zonal Operations Department, Helen Obi, who represented Danbatta at the event, said NCC would shield phone users in the country against any harm that could get to them or to their property through the use of telecom services.

Obi advised phone users to adequately protect their PINs and not carelessly save them in their phones.

Also, the NCC told all telecom operators in the country to give a 14-day grace for subscribers to exhaust their remaining data after the 30 days’ expiration period before they are cut off.

The NCC has accused Nigerian banks of shielding fraudsters who cart away depositors’ money through different guise. The telecommunications’ regulator also alleged that there were more cases of bank frauds more than what banks are willing to disclose.