Not less than 85.51 million bank customers are likely to be unable to withdraw from their bank accounts by March 1, 2024.
This is as a result of their inability to link their National Identification Numbers (NINs) and/or Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) to their accounts.
A data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) indicates that Nigeria has 146 million active bank customers (individual) as of December 2022.
As at January 26, 2024, the BVN count on the NIBSS portal was 60.49 million. On NIN, about 104 million NINs have been issued as of December 2023.
With about 24 hours to the March 1, 2024 deadline given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for customers to link their Bank Verification Number (BVN) and/or National Identity Number (NIN) to their bank accounts and wallets, Nigerians have raised issues surrounding verifying their NIN with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
The CBN had asked banks to restrict transactions on accounts whose NIN and BVN have not been linked, starting on March 1, 2024. On December 1, 2023, the CBN also declared that any bank accounts lacking NIN and a BVN will be designated as ‘Post no Debit.’
Following the development, the CBN sent a circular to all deposit money banks which included its new directive.
The bank said that having a BVN and/or NIN is required for all Tier-1 bank accounts and wallets for people, even as it added that having a BVN and NIN is still required for Tiers 2 and 3 accounts as well as wallets for individual accounts.
