Kayode Tokede
The total number of Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) so far issued by concerned financial service institutions in Nigeria has climbed to 51.19 million as at November 28, 2021 out of about 111.54 million total active bank accounts as at May 2020.
The above implies that 60.34million or 46 per cent of bank customers are yet to link their accounts to BVN.
Speaking with THISDAY, the Managing Director, Highcap Securities Limited, Mr. David Adnori said the 60 million gap in bank’s customers yet to register their BVN calls for concerns.
He, however, encouraged bank customers to update their accounts with BVN in order to drive financial inclusion of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
To address the challenge and complement the existing means of identification of customers, which include: the driver’s license; the international passport; the national identity card; and the permanent voter’s card; the CBN, in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, launched the BVN project in February 2014.
The BVN is expected to also minimize the incidence of fraud and money laundering in the financial system, as well as enhance financial inclusion.
The implementation of the BVN initiative, which started with the customers of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), has been very successful.
The apex bank in 2019 maintained that it will get the number of people enrolled on the BVN system to 100 million over the next five years.
The Bankers’ Committee had also unveiled a new plan that requires classification of BVN into two – BVN Premium and BVN Lite.
CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, said BVN Premium will cover customers that can provide the 18 basic requirements for a complete BVN enrolment, while the BVN Lite will require minimal documentation like name and phone number for bank customers, especially those in rural areas that do not meet the full requirements.
