How to request deletion of your account
You can request deletion in either of two ways. Both are free, and both can be used by any Viscount customer.
- Open the Viscount app and log in.
- Tap More in the bottom bar, then Settings.
- Tap Account, then Close account and delete my data.
- Read the summary of what will be deleted and what will be kept, and tap Continue.
- Choose where any remaining balance should be sent, if there is one.
- Confirm with your transaction PIN and the one-time passcode sent to your registered phone number.
If you no longer have the app, cannot log in, or prefer to write to us:
- Go to support.viscountbank.com.
- Choose the category Account closure and data deletion.
- Give your full name, your registered phone number and your Viscount account number.
- Submit the ticket. You will receive a reference number immediately and a first response within 5 to 30 minutes, between 7am and 8pm WAT, every day.
- We will verify your identity (for example by a one-time passcode to your registered number or a selfie check) before acting, so that no one can delete your account but you.
Before you request deletion
Because a Viscount account is a bank account, a few things have to be settled before it can be closed. The app checks these for you and tells you what is outstanding; if you write to us, we will tell you in the ticket.
- Balance: any balance must be transferred out, or you must tell us the account at another bank to send it to. A ₦0 balance is required for closure.
- Credit: any loan, overdraft or other credit facility must be fully repaid.
- Locked savings and fixed deposits: must have matured or been liquidated. Liquidating early is subject to the terms shown when you opened them.
- Cards: are cancelled automatically on closure. Pending card transactions must have settled.
- Business accounts: closure must be requested by an approver under the business's mandate, and terminals must be returned.
- Accounts for minors: closure is requested by the parent or guardian who operates the account.
What is deleted
When your request is accepted, we delete the following within 30 days:
- Your Viscount app profile and login, including your PIN, password and biometric enrolment on our systems.
- Registered devices, push-notification tokens and device identifiers.
- Saved beneficiaries, saved billers, pockets, savings targets and the names and settings you gave them.
- App preferences, notification settings and marketing consent. You will receive no further marketing.
- Analytics and usage data linked to you, including crash reports and screen-usage events.
- Selfie and liveness images taken for verification, except where retained as part of the identity record described below.
- Support tickets that do not relate to a complaint, dispute or regulatory matter.
Deleting your account from the app and then uninstalling it removes the app's data from your phone. Uninstalling alone does not delete your account or your data with us; you must request deletion as above.
What is kept, and for how long
Viscount is a bank licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, and Nigerian law requires us to keep certain records after an account is closed. We cannot delete these on request. They are held securely, accessed only for the legal purpose they are kept for, and deleted or irreversibly anonymised when the period ends.
| Data kept | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Identity and verification records: name, date of birth, BVN, NIN, identity document details and the verification photograph | Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and CBN AML/CFT/CPF Regulations | At least 5 years after the account is closed |
| Account and transaction records: statements, transfers, payments, deposits, card transactions | Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022; CBN record-keeping rules; tax law | At least 5 years after closure, or after the transaction if later |
| Credit records: facilities, repayments, defaults, settlements | Credit Reporting Act 2017 and CBN credit-reporting rules; already reported to licensed credit bureaux, which retain them under their own licences | At least 5 years after the facility is settled |
| Complaints, disputes and fraud investigations | CBN Consumer Protection Regulations | For the period the Regulations require after the matter is closed |
| Suspicious-transaction and regulatory reports, and any data under a legal hold, court order or regulatory request | Legal obligation | Until the obligation ends |
| Records of the deletion request itself | To evidence that we acted on your request | 5 years |
Where a retained record contains personal data, it is kept only to meet the obligation above and is not used for any other purpose. Where the law allows us to keep an anonymised version instead of the identifiable one, we do.
Deleting some data without closing your account
You do not have to close your account to remove some of your data. In the app, under More › Settings, you can at any time:
- Remove registered devices (Security › Devices).
- Delete saved beneficiaries and billers.
- Delete pockets and savings targets after moving the money out.
- Withdraw marketing consent (Notifications).
- Choose Essential only for website cookies, which stops analytics cookies.
You may also exercise any of your rights under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, including access, rectification and objection, through the support portal under the Data protection category. See our privacy notice.
Timeline and confirmation
- Identity verification and any outstanding-item checks: usually the same day; up to 5 Business Days if a balance must be sent to another bank or a facility is being settled.
- Account closure: on completion of the checks above. You receive confirmation by SMS and email with a closure reference.
- Deletion of the data listed under "What is deleted": within 30 days of closure.
- Deletion of retained records: automatically at the end of the retention periods above.
A closed account cannot be reopened. If you later wish to bank with Viscount again you will open a new account and complete identity verification afresh.
Questions
For help with a deletion request, or to ask what data we hold about you before you decide, open a ticket at support.viscountbank.com under Account closure and data deletion or Data protection. You can also contact our Data Protection Officer through the same portal. If you are not satisfied with how we handle your request, you may complain to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission at ndpc.gov.ng.