Bank accounts linked to BVN now 46.62million

A total number of 46.72 million bank accounts have been linked to the Bank Verification Number (BVN) as of February 28, 2021, from 36.8 million it stood on February 17, 2019.

BVN is a unique number for customers of banks in Nigeria which contains the biometric details of customers, was launched in 2014 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the Banker’ Committee and in collaboration with all banks in Nigeria.

The figures obtained from the Nigerian Interbank Settlement Scheme (NIBSS) on Wednesday, showed that no fewer than 9.92 million bank accounts were linked to the BVN between 2019 to 2021.

Biometric identification was introduced to address identity theft, reduce exposure to fraud and enhance the banking industry chances of being able to fish out blacklisted customers, among others.

It was gathered that there was a slowdown in BVN registration between February and May last year due to the restrictions during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, it was observed that there was a significant increase in enrolment between August and October due to government intervention schemes aimed at empowering the people, for which BVN registration is required.