With two months to the deadline which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) set for the conclusion of the exercise, the CBN revealed that 19 million bank customers had so far enrolled for the BVN.
This means that going by available NIBSS’ document on industry analysis of BVNs linked to bank accounts as of April 2015 which listed the nation’s 23 banks as having 48,389,614 active accounts, more than 29 million customers have not registered.
The CBN Deputy Director, Banking and Payments System Department, Mr. Musa Jimoh, disclosed the number of registered customers at an interactive session with journalists during the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) bi-monthly forum held in Lagos.
Mr. Jimoh urged bank customers who were yet to enroll on the BVN platform to endeavour to do so before the expiration of the October 31 deadline as there would be no further extension.
Though, Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access(EFinA), an organisation committed to deepening financial inclusion in Nigeria, said about 28.6 million adults in the country have bank accounts, the Electronic Payment Providers Association of Nigeria stated that the number of bank account holders as of March 2015 (made up of both individuals, including children, and organisations) has reached 76 million out of a population of 170 million people.
According to Jimoh, customers who do not obtain their BVN at the expiration of the deadline may not be able to deposit into or make withdrawals from their accounts.
It would be recalled that the CBN had extended the initial June 30 2015 deadline for the BVN registration by four months to October 31, 2015.
The BVN, which is an initiative of the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee, was launched on February 14, 2014.
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