Over 60m Nigerians Register BVN Ahead of January 31 Deadline

The Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) has reported that over 60.2 million Nigerians have registered for a Bank Verification Number (BVN) as of January 11, 2024.

NIBSS stated that it is just 21 days before the deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through a circular issued on December 1, 2023.

The over 60.2 million registration represented an increase of over 2.6 per cent from the 58.7 million BVN registrations recorded on September 12, 2023, before the apex bank’s directive.

The CBN had directed all commercial, merchant, non-interest, payment service banks, other financial institutions, and mobile money operators to revalidate the BVN or National Identification Number (NIN) attached to all accounts/wallets by January 31, 2024.

The circular had also stated that effective March 1, 2024, all funded accounts or wallets without BVN or NIN would be tagged “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.

The Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2023 Survey report revealed that three million banked adults, which is 5 per cent of the total banked population, do not have a BVN or NIN.