The BVN has reached 57 million, as the CBN threatens to close defaulting accounts

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has threatened to close accounts that have yet to be linked to a BVN, citing an increase in registrations to 57.96 million as of July 3, 2023.According to data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBBS), as of April 8, 2023, 57.39 million clients' accounts were linked to their Bank Verification Numbers (BVN), indicating a small rise in less than two months.Remember that the CBN announced in May 2023 a 30-day deadline for banks and other financial institutions to disable any accounts that are not linked to a BVN. According to the 'Regulatory Framework for Bank Verification Number (BVN) Operations and Watch-list for the Nigerian Banking Industry' report, the decision to link BVNs to all accounts was motivated by the need to effect the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) set-up and also, enforce Customer’s-Due-Diligence principles, in order to promote a safer, reliable and efficient banking and payment system. “No new account/wallet shall be allowed to operate without BVN (except inflows), however, any account/wallet without BVN shall be closed within 30 days,” the CBN framework stated.