Bankers: Customer Data Updates Essential, but Flexibility Needed for Financial Inclusion

Sudanhorizon – Hala Hamza

Several bankers have stressed the importance of the Central Bank of Sudan’s directive requiring banks to update customer data, describing the measure as essential to strengthening the soundness of the banking system and implementing “Know Your Customer” (KYC) requirements.

However, they expressed concerns that freezing the accounts of customers who fail to update their information by the deadline at the end of September could undermine the financial inclusion policy pursued by the Central Bank of Sudan.

A trusted banking source told Sudanhorizon that the Central Bank’s directive to update accounts was issued after it was discovered that most customers had reported monthly incomes to their banks at the time they opened their accounts that were relatively high, but which now have little real value due to high inflation.

The source said this appears daily in transaction reviews as a suspicious activity indicator. He explained that all banks operate under Anti-Money Laundering (AML) programs, which monitor customer account activity and flag suspicious transactions.

Former banker Noman Yousif described the directive requiring banks to suspend or restrict accounts whose owners have not completed their data updates as a legitimate measure to strengthen the banking system and comply with KYC, anti-money laundering, and counter-terrorist financing requirements.

Speaking to Sudanhorizon, Yousif called for a review of the way the decision is being implemented and its timing, particularly given the exceptional circumstances Sudan is experiencing, including displacement caused by the war, loss of documents, changes of residence, and disruptions to bank branches and services.

He expressed concern that failure to update information within the specified period could lead to the mass closure of accounts and the exclusion of existing customers from the financial system, particularly low-income customers and groups most in need of financial services.

Yousif urged banks to make account closure a last resort, give customers sufficient time, provide simplified and digital channels for updating their information, and allow exceptions under clearly defined regulations.

He stressed that protecting the banking system does not conflict with financial inclusion. “The soundness of the banking system and public confidence in it are the foundation of financial inclusion,” he said, noting that achieving this requires a careful balance between compliance requirements on the one hand and avoiding pushing citizens out of the banking system on the other.

He stressed that the success of the data-update campaign should not be measured by the number of accounts closed or frozen, but rather by the number of customers whose information has been updated and who remain safely and regularly integrated into the financial system.

The ultimate objective, he said, is not to reduce the number of bank accounts but to build a safer banking system.

Another banking source, who requested anonymity, told Sudanhorizon that updating customer data helps strengthen account security, protect banking transactions, and ensure uninterrupted access to banking services and notifications.

The source added that the process facilitates faster and more accurate banking transactions, ensures that customer information complies with applicable banking requirements and regulations, and guarantees the continued provision of all banking services safely and conveniently.

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