BVN-linked accounts now 41.82m

Active bank accounts linked to bank verification number (BVN) in Nigeria as at last month stood at 41.82 million, a report by the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NBISS) has shown.

The rise in the number of new account opening and enrollment on BVN platform by back customers was attributed to the increasing number of customers opening new accounts and those regularising delinquent accounts following the challenges they faced during the five-week economic lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

Crowds in banks’ branches have continued to increase several weeks after the lockdown was partially lifted, with majority of the people wanting to open new bank accounts, activate their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and launch complaints about failed transactions, among others.

The current BVN data, falls short of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s)  target of 100 customers enrollment on the BVN network in the next five years, but was an improvement from about 36 million captured  in the last one year.