Nigerians can now request their commercial banks to issue them with a debit card which doubles as their National Identity Card at no extra cost.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami disclosed this on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Abuja. The Card 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.
Last year, NIMC introduced a smart ID card you can download from their 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.”
According to Pantami the banks are permitted to print the card along with either Mastercard or Visa card or any other kind of card.
“So when you apply for a card at your bank, you can indicate that ‘I want this card to be for 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.”
NIMC and the central bank signed a nondisclosure 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 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 minister said.
