As the Central Bank of Nigeria’s December 18, 2023, deadline approaches for the registration for the Bank Verification Number, the number of registered Nigerians has hit 59.9 million.
This is according to the latest BVN registration data update released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, as seen by AMBusiness.
The most recent NIBSS data, issued in September, showed that the number of registered BVN stands at 58.7 million as of September 12, 2023.
While registration for the number has been delayed since the beginning of the year, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recent statement that all bank accounts without a BVN would be frozen beginning in April 2024 has pushed the BVN database a little higher.
With the most recent statistic of 59.9 million, this indicates that over 1 million new BVNs have been registered in the last three months.
Since the beginning of this year, the BVN database has been progressively developing. The BVN database stood at 56.5 million at the end of 2022, after 4.8 million additional registrations were reported in the year.
The BVN database has expanded by 3.4 million thus far this year, with only a few days until the end of 2023.
According to NIBSS, the country had 133.5 million active bank accounts as of December 2021. While data for 2022 and 2023 has not yet been released, the statistics are likely to be higher than those for 2021, which showed that there is still a wide gap between the registered BVN and the number of bank accounts.
However, industry observers feel the difference is minor because several accounts can be linked to a single BVN.
A Bank Verification identifier is a one-of-a-kind identifier that permits individual accounts in the Nigerian banking system to be confirmed.
The BVN, according to NIBSS, provides bank account owners with a unique identification that can be verified across the Nigerian banking system, while also protecting clients’ bank accounts from unauthorized access.
The CBN said earlier this month that accounts without a BVN and National Identification Number would be frozen beginning in April 2024.
The central bank urged banks to impose a “Post no Debit” restriction, which stops clients from making withdrawals, transfers, or other debits “for all existing Tier-1 accounts/wallets without BVN or NIN.”
“Any unfunded account/wallet will be placed on ‘Post No Debit or Credit’ status immediately until the new process is completed.” “Effective March 1, 2024, all funded accounts or wallets will be placed on ‘Post No Debit or Credit’ and no further transactions will be permitted,” according to a circular issued by the CBN’s Director of Payments System Management Department Chibuzo Efobi and Director of Financial Policy and Regulation Department Haruna Mustapha.
It also stated that by January 31, 2024, all BVN or NIN tied to accounts/wallets must be electronically revalidated.
