OVER 60 MILLION NIGERIANS HAVE ENROLLED FOR BVN

At least 60.49 million bank customers have completed their registration for the Bank Verification Number (BVN), with an additional 291,232 individuals joining in the past two weeks. The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) revealed this information, attributing the surge to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) initiative to deactivate bank accounts not linked to BVN starting April 2024.

The CBN issued a directive instructing commercial, merchant, non-interest, payment service banks, other financial institutions, and mobile money operators to electronically revalidate the BVN or National Identification Number (NIN) attached to all accounts/wallets by January 31.

Additionally, the CBN has imposed a ‘post no debit’ restriction, effectively prohibiting bank customers from conducting withdrawals, transfers, or any other debits unless BVN or NIN is linked.

According to a statement from NIBSS, “The total number of active bank accounts in the country was 133.5 million as of December 2021. Although data for 2022 and 2023 is pending release, it is anticipated that the figures will surpass those of 2021. This underscores a substantial disparity between the registered BVN and the actual number of bank accounts.”

Source: Techeconomy