Ahead of CBN deadline, Nigerians with BVN hit 60.2m, up from 58.7m

Twenty-one days before the expiration of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) deadline for bank customers to have Bank Verification Number, BVN updated to their accounts or risk access to their accounts, registration has risen to 60.2 million, the latest data from the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System, NIBSS has shown.

The figure represents an increase of over 1.5m new registrations from 58.7 million BVN registrations as of September 12, 2023.

An update on the website of the NIBSS indicated that as of January 10, 2024, BVN registration has hit 60,200,872.

The increase in BVN shows that bank customers are up to the task of registering and revalidating their BVN ahead of the CBN’s deadline.

It would be recalled that on December 1, 2023, the CBN directed commercial, merchant, non-interest, payment service banks, other financial institutions, and mobile money operators through a circular that the BVN or National Identification Number, NIN, attached to all accounts/wallets must be electronically revalidated by January 31, 2024.

The circular said effective March 1, 2024, all funded accounts or wallets without BVN or NIN shall be placed on ‘Post No Debit or Credit’, and no further transactions would be permitted.

According to the NIBSS electronic payment factsheet for 2021, the number of bank accounts in the country was 191.4 million, of which 57.9 million were inactive.

Also, similar statistics by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access, EFInA, Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2023 Survey showed that five per cent (3 million) of banked adults do not have a BVN or NIN.