BVN has no expiry date, says CBN

By Business A.M. 

The Central Bank of Nigeria has said that the Bank Verification Number (BVN) it issues in collaboration with Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System does not have an expiry date, contrary to claims that the BVN expires after a ten-year period.

The apex bank made the clarification  in a press statement dated May 10,2023,  signed by Isa AbdulMumin, the CBN acting director, corporate communication.

“The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to reports suggesting that the Bank Verification Number (BVN) issued by the Bank in collaboration with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) expires after a ten-year period. Contrary to these claims, we wish to clarify that the BVN issued in Nigeria has no expiry date,” the statement partly read.

According to the CBN, once a customer’s biometrics have been captured and enrolled in the database of NIBSS, the BVN remains for life.

It added that the Regulatory Framework for BVN issued by the CBN in 2021 stipulates that customers can only change their records due to certain conditions spelt
out in the document and after being cleared by relevant authorities.

The bank, therefore,  implores all bank users across the country, especially those whose biometrics have been captured by the system, to continue using their unique identifiers,noting that they last their entire lifetime.