Total BVN enrolment rises to 64.8m in January 2025— NIBSS
Agency Report
Total number people enrolled in the Bank Verification number (BVN) system by bank account across the country has increased to 64.8 million, according to data released by Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS)
The number showed additional 800000 account owners enrolled in the month January against 64.00 million reported in the month of November.
According to the recent banking data released by NIBSS, the number of active bank accounts in Nigeria stood at 231.1 million in July 2024.
The current number of BVNs has shown that there is still a wide gap between the number of accounts operating by banks customers and the registered BVNs.
Financial operators attributed the disparity in the bank accounts and BVN to multiple accounts by banks customers.
They explained that a customer with five accounts in different banks can link those accounts to a single BVN without difficulty.
According to Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2023 Survey report, 5% (3 million) of banked adults do not have a BVN or NIN.
It could be recalled that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had last year announced that NIBSS would launch a non-resident BVN platform to enable Nigerians in the diaspora to operate their local bank accounts, run their businesses, and sort out KYC issues with financial institutions from anywhere in the world.
The apex bank said that the initiative is part of efforts to ensure that Nigerians irrespective of their location anywhere in the world can participate in the Nigerian economy without any hassles and diversify their businesses.
