The number of Bank Verification Number enrollments by bank account holders in Nigeria has seen a notable increase, reaching 63.4 million as of September 2024.
This growth was recently disclosed by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, which tracks BVN data across the financial sector. Compared to the 62.7 million registered in July 2024, this figure shows that over 750,000 additional account holders have signed up for the BVN in just two months.
The BVN system, first introduced in 2014, serves as a unique identification number for bank customers, ensuring security and helping to streamline account verification across multiple financial institutions. Its importance has continued to grow, driven by several key regulatory directives, most notably from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
One of the primary factors behind the recent surge in BVN registration is the directive issued by the CBN in December 2023. The CBN mandated that by April 2024, all accounts not linked to a BVN would be frozen.
This regulation applied not only to commercial and merchant banks but also extended to non-interest banks, payment service providers, and mobile money operators. Furthermore, the directive required that all financial institutions enforce either a BVN or National Identification Number (NIN) for all accounts and wallets.
As a result, many bank customers rushed to register for the BVN to avoid disruptions in accessing their accounts, contributing significantly to the increase in enrollments throughout the year. Data from NIBSS shows that since December 2023, when the total BVN registrations stood at 60 million, the database has expanded by 3.4 million within the first nine months of 2024.
Despite this growth, there remains a considerable gap between the number of active bank accounts and registered BVNs in Nigeria. According to NIBSS, there were 231.1 million active bank accounts as of July 2024, compared to the current 63.4 million BVN enrollments. This discrepancy suggests that a large number of accounts are either inactive or not yet linked to a BVN, raising concerns about compliance with the CBN’s directive.
However, financial analysts note that the gap may not be as wide as it appears, given that multiple bank accounts can be linked to a single BVN. This means that many account holders with multiple accounts have likely consolidated them under one BVN, which helps explain part of the difference between the two figures. Nevertheless, according to the 2023 Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) report, approximately 5% of Nigeria’s banked adults—around 3 million individuals—still do not have a BVN or NIN.
The BVN system plays a crucial role in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem. It offers a secure means of verifying customer identities across the banking industry, ensuring that accounts are protected from unauthorized access.
Every BVN issued is linked to all the bank accounts of the holder, creating a unified identity across different financial institutions. This centralized verification system has helped mitigate fraud and foster trust in Nigeria’s increasingly digital banking landscape.
Additionally, the BVN has become a mandatory requirement for opening new bank accounts and conducting various financial transactions, particularly following the CBN’s recent directives.
Financial technology companies (fintechs) are also required to link BVNs to their customer accounts to comply with the latest regulations.
