New Telegraph

Bank Verification Numbers Enrolment Hits 64.84m

About 800,000 Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) were issued by banks in the country between November last year and this month, thus bringing total BVN enrolment in the industry to 64.84 million, latest data released by the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) shows.

According to the data, BVN data stood at 64.01 million in November compared with 64.84 million in January this year.

Launched by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, NIBSS and the German firm, Dermalog, on February 14, 2014, the $50 million BVN project was aimed at capturing biometrics of all bank customers and giving them an 11-digit unique identity number (BVN) that can be verified across the Nigerian banking industry.

The Governor of the CBN at the time, Lamido Sanusi, had said at the event that the BVN project would enable the apex bank to significantly reduce incidents of fraud and money laundering in the banking industry and also help accelerate financial inclusion by opening up opportunities for credit to millions of Nigerians who do not have a standard means of identification.

A breakdown of the NIBSS numbers shows that BVN enrolment rose from 45.80 million in 2020 to 51.90 million in 2021; 56.90 million in 2022; 60.12 million in 2023 and 64.01 million in November 2024.

Further analysis of the data shows that there was a significant increase in BVN enrolment in the first four months of last year following a circular that the CBN issued to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) Non-interest banks, Payment Service Banks, other financial institutions and mobile operators, on December 1, last year, directing that all funded bank accounts or wallets, without BVN or National Identification Number (NIN) should be placed on “Post No Debit or Credit,” by April 1 2024.

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