BVN Enrollment Hits 54.7 Million In May 2022

• BVN Enrollment reached 54.7 million in May 2022.

• Nigeria Inter-Bank settlement system (NIBSS) says that 6 million people enrolled for BVN last year.

•  Analysts say there are many gaps between bank accounts and BVN enrollment.

As of May 29, 2022, the enrollment for the Biometric Verification Number hit 54.7 million.

It was confirmed by the Nigeria Inter-Bank settlement system (NIBSS). Data released showed that about 3 million people enrolled for the Bank Verification Number (BVN) between January and May 2022.

The number of enrolled people was 51.7 million as of December 26, 2021. According to NIBSS, the number of bank account owners enrolled for BVN rose by 6 million in 2021.

NIBSS also reported that in December 2021, there were 133.5 million active bank accounts.

An industry analyst, however, claims that even though a single BVN can be linked to several accounts, there are still visible gaps between bank accounts and BVN enrollment, and such gaps must be filled.

In December 2019, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), through the governor, announced the start of the classification BVN 2.0 plan that gives both the rich and the poor in rural areas access to financial aid.   

The announcement was made by Godwin Emefiele, the governor of CBN in Ogere, Ogun state, at the closure of the 11th Bankers committee retreat. He further added that there would be two classifications of BVN, which are the BVN premium and BVN Lite.

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In his statement, the governor stated that the BVN premium is for customers who can provide the 18 basic requirements necessary for a complete BVN enrollment. At the same time, the BVN Lite requires simple documentation such as names and phone numbers for bank customers, and it is specifically for those living in rural areas that cannot provide the 18 basic requirements.

This innovation is to ensure that more people were brought into the financial system.

“The BVN 2.0 classification scheme will help bring more people into the financial system and reduce the financial exclusion rate,” the CBN governor said.

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