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The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) says the volume of Bank Verification Number (BVN) enrollments in the country has risen to 64.8 million this month from the 63.47 million recorded at the end of 2024.
Commenting on their latest BVN data on Monday evening, the agency revealed a gap between the number of accounts and the number of BVNs, which is a compulsory requirement for opening an account. The number of active bank accounts in Nigeria stood at 231.1 million as of July 2024.
According to the Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) 2023 Survey report on Access to Financial Services in Nigeria, about 5.0 percent (three million) of banked adults do not have a BVN or National Identification Number (NIN).
It would be recalled that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, announced in October that NIBSS would launch a non-resident BVN platform. This platform aims to enable Nigerians in the diaspora to operate their local bank accounts, run their businesses, and resolve KYC issues with financial institutions from anywhere in the world.
Cardoso maintained that the initiative is part of efforts to ensure that Nigerians, irrespective of their location, can participate in the Nigerian economy without any hassles and diversify their businesses.
