BVN enrollments surge to 62.7m on central bank directive

Enrollment for Bank Verification Number (BVN) by bank account owners surged to 62.7 million as of July, according to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).

This marks a significant increase from the 61.87 million recorded in early May, indicating a growth of 854,267 new registrations in just two months. The BVN database, which stood at 60 million in December 2023, has grown by 2.7 million this year. This notable increase is primarily attributed to a directive issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in December 2023.

The directive mandated that all banks freeze accounts not linked to a BVN by April 2024. Additionally, it required all commercial, merchant, non-interest, payment service banks, other financial institutions, and mobile money operators to mandate the BVN or National Identification Number (NIN) for all accounts and wallets.

Despite the significant progress in BVN enrollments, there remains a substantial gap between the number of active bank accounts and the registered BVNs. Recent banking data from NIBSS revealed that the number of active bank accounts in Nigeria stood at 219.6 million as of March 2024.

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This indicates a wide disparity between the total number of bank accounts and the number of BVNs. However, industry analysts suggest this gap may be less pronounced, considering multiple accounts can be linked to a single BVN.

According to the World Bank, accessing a transaction account is the first step toward broader financial inclusion since it allows people to store, send, and receive money. “The number of Nigerians with accounts at regulated institutions such as a bank, credit unions, microfinance institutions, post offices, or mobile money service providers increased by 45 percent in 2021,” the global bank said.

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The CBN’s directive has evidently spurred a rush for BVN registration, reflecting the BVN’s increasing importance in financial transactions and account management. The BVN, a unique identifier for bank customers, enhances security and reduces fraud by providing a centralised bank account verification and identification database.

Furthermore, the Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2023 Survey report highlighted that 5 percent of banked adults, approximately 3 million individuals, did not have a BVN or NIN.