BVN-linked accounts increase by 16.11% to 55.2 million

This figure indicates an increase of 16.11% from 47.54 million accounts linked to BVN as of April 11, 2021.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 1958, implemented the use of BVN as a biometric identification system across the banking industry as a means to curb or reduce illegal banking transactions in Nigeria.

The BVN acts as a unique identification number which will be given to all bank customers and directly linked to the bank accounts held by each customer across the entire banking industry.

Despite the increase in the number of BVNs registered during the period, the figure is yet to meet the 100 million customers target set by the CBN.

With a little over 40 million enrollees in 2019, the CBN had pushed to reach over 100 million bank account holders in 5 years (2025).

There has been a push for increased BVN registration in the country as a means to curb illegalities in the financial industry.

Apart from the crime factor, BVN is also aimed at addressing the hitches and bottlenecks associated with receiving credit facilities among business-inclined customers especially those in the informal sector.

This prompted the Bankers’ Committee to create a new plan that classified BVN owners into two – BVN Premium and BVN Lite.

According to an explanation by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, the customers that need to provide over 18 requirements for the enrolment will fall under BVN Premium while the customers that would need just some minimal documentation would fall under BVN Lite, a means to reach the grassroot customers who are basically at the rural areas in order to reduce the financial exclusion rate.