Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed that 32 million bank accounts are without the Biometric Verification Number (BVN).
Alhaji Mu’azu Ibrahim, CBN Director, Corporate Communications, said CBN was concerned by the number of account owners yet to enrol, considering that the exercise would end by October 31.
CBN partnered with all banks in Nigeria on February 14, 2014, launched the BVN, which is a centralised biometric identification system for the banking industry. It aims at addressing issues of identity theft and fraud and will help to discover blacklisted customers, reduce queues in banking halls and standardise efficiency of banking operations.
The CBN also said the BVN would encourage banks to grant loans to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and students in the country.
“One of the most potent arguments advanced by banks for not extending enough credit to prospective credit customers in Nigeria has been the absence of credible identity system. Thus, it was agreed that the scheme would make access to credit easier for low income earners in the society,” the Apex bank said.
“The emerging statistical trend of the BVN registration exercise shows that there are about 52 million active bank accounts in various banks. Out of this, total enrolment stands at about 20 million, out of which about 14 million accounts have been found linked to the BVN as at September, 2015. The question now is whether bank customers have been taking advantage of the extension to complete their BVN registration and also ensure that their various bank accounts have been linked to the BVN,” CBN stated.
