The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Friday directed that bank cheques should henceforth bear the designated sort codes of the geographical locations of their branches.
According to the circular dated November 7, 2018, titled “circular on the revised Nigerian Cheque Standard (NCS) and Nigerian Cheque Printers Accreditation Scheme (NICPAS): Sort Code and MICR Reject Flag,” signed by ‘Dipo Fatokun, Director, Banking Services Department, the move is part of “efforts to increase efficiency and safety in the clearing system.”
It said the NCS and NICPAS, otherwise known as the Green Book Version 2.0, will be implemented using the unique state codes stipulated as the components of the Sort Code on cheque instruments.
Specifically, all bank branches within a state of the Federation will now carry a uniform code identifying their location.
The state alignments now means, for example, that all bank branches, irrespective of their name will bear the code 23; Delta, 24; Oyo, 19; Akwa Ibom, 01; Anambra, 02; Lagos, 15; and Zamfara, 37; among others.
While banks are mandated to activate the MICR reject/repair flag on their clearing system, for accurate cheque rejects/repair statistics report and good decision making in the industry, the circular warned that “the CBN, in conjunction with the MICR Technical Implementation Committee, will monitor compliance with the requirements of (the) circular.”