Enrollments for the Bank Verification Number (BVN) by bank account owners in the country increased to 62.7 million this July.
This was revealed by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) in its BVN data just released. Previous data released by the organization showed that the enrollment database stood at 61.87 million in early May.
This indicates that a total of 854,267 account owners have registered for the BVN in the last two months. As of December 2023, the total registered BVN stood at 60 million, according to NIBSS data. This suggests that the database has grown by 2.7 million so far this year.
The increase in registration for the BVN is attributable to the December 2023 directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which ordered all banks to freeze any account not linked with BVN by April 2024.
Part of the directive also required all commercial, merchant, non-interest, payment service banks, other financial institutions, and mobile money operators, to mandate the BVN or National Identification Number (NIN) for all accounts and wallets.
Bank accounts vs BVN
Meanwhile, the number of active bank accounts in the country shows that there is still a very wide gap between the number of accounts and the number of BVN, which is now a compulsory requirement for opening an account.
According to the recent banking data released by NIBSS, the number of active bank accounts in Nigeria stood at 219.6 million in March 2024.
Going by the current number of BVNs, there is still a wide gap between the number of accounts and the registered BVNs. However, industry analysts believe that the difference may not be much given that multiple accounts can be linked to a single BVN.
According to Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2023 Survey report, 5% (3 million) of banked adults do not have a BVN or NIN.
What you should know
- A BVN is a unique number that allows individual accounts to be verified across the Nigerian banking industry.
- The unique ID number is issued to every bank customer at enrolment and linked to every account that the customer has at all Nigerian banks.
- According to NIBSS, the BVN gives bank account owners a unique identity that can be verified across the Nigerian banking industry, while it ensures that customers’ bank accounts are protected from unauthorized access.
- According to the recent directives from the CBN, every financial account, including that of fintechs, must now be linked with BVN before it can be operational.
