The CBN had through a circular last July, given banks operating in the country a maximum period of nine months to implement the NUBAN scheme.

With barely few days for the nine month full compliance period stipulated for migration to the Nigerian Uniform Bank Account Number Scheme (NUBAN) authorised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to elapse, more banks in the country have expressed readiness to comply with the directive.

According to the regulator, the move was to promote best practice in the account number scheme and also eliminate many of the problems associated with the Automated Clearing House (ACH) as well as the electronic payment system generally.

It had explained that the proposed NUBAN was a 10-digit Bank Account Number format, with A Check Digit constructed to support a modulus check, which enables the presenting bank to perform checks.

The Check Digit, according to the apex bank, was derived from an algorithm that operates on a combination of the 3-digit CBN-assigned Bank Code and the 9-digit Account Serial Number.

In line with the regulation, Skye Bank Plc specifically alerted its customers of its readiness to migrate from 13 digits account number to 10 digits at the weekend.

A text message from the bank to its customers explained: “Dear customers. This is to inform you that your account number will soon change from 13 to 10 digits in line with the CBN directive.”

Head of Corporate Affairs, Skye Bank, Mr. Kayode Akinyemi, who confirmed the development in an interview with THISDAY, said that the move will increase efficiency in the bank.

“It shows that the bank is responsive. We have taken all the necessary internal control machineries to ensure that we comply with the CBN directive. From all indications, we are among the first set of banks to express our willingness to comply with the policy.

“For now, I can’t give you a specific date when we are going to migrate to the 10-digit directive, but the bulk sms to our customers shows that everything has been installed to ensure compliance,” Akinyemi added.

Further findings from THISDAY however revealed that most banks are still operating with the 13 digits.

For instance, the account number for Oceanic Bank International Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and First Bank of Nigeria Plc are still 13 digits number. Similarly, account number for Intercontinental Bank Plc’s customer is more than 13 digits.

Bankers argued that the new scheme will promote efficiency and also help to reduce their cost of operations.

The banking watchdog had stated that the 10-digit NUBAN will make Nigeria fully comply with the 10-digit Account Number structure required by the West Africa Monetary Institute towards the economic integration of ECOWAS countries, adding that the scheme is also the practice in the United Kingdom.