BANKS TO ACCEPT DIVIDEND WARRANTS INTO SAVINGS ACCOUNTS

Banks have been instructed to accept dividend warrants into savings accounts. Security and Exchange Commission, SEC, yesterday stated that banks are now mandated to accept dividend warrants into the savings account of investors and as well get them enrolled free of charge in the e-Dividend Mandate Management System (e-DMMS) platform. This is coming after the announcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, directing banks to accept deposit of cheques into savings accounts. It will be recalled that CBN via circular referenced BPS/DIR/GEN/CIR/03/005 dated 28th July, 2016 instructed banks to allow customers with Bank Verification Number, BVN, to deposit cheques into their savings account. The management of SEC said, “As part of several measures to put an end to the growth in unclaimed dividends in Nigeria, the SEC had engaged the CBN and other stakeholders on key initiatives. In particular, we set up a committee comprising the SEC, CBN and representatives of Registrars in 2013 to work on the e-Dividend programme. The committee’s work and advocacy played a crucial work in facilitating the significant progress already achieved, including the new directive on accepting cheques into savings accounts. “Through excellent collaboration with the CBN, the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and deposit money banks, the Commission was able to develop and deploy the e-Dividend Mandate Management System (e-DMMS) as an online portal for enrolling investors.