As the Central Bank of Nigeria’s deadline of December 18, 2023, approaches for Bank Verification Number (BVN) registration, the latest data update from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, as reported by AMBusiness, reveals that the number of registered Nigerians has reached 59.9 million.

In contrast, the September NIBSS data indicated that, as of September 12, 2023, the registered BVN count was 58.7 million. Despite registration delays throughout the year, the recent pronouncement by the Central Bank of Nigeria that all bank accounts lacking a BVN would face freezing from April 2024 has driven a notable increase in the BVN database.

The latest statistics, reaching 59.9 million, signify a surge of over 1 million new BVN registrations in the last three months.

Since the commencement of the year, the BVN database has shown consistent growth. Ending 2022 with 56.5 million BVNs, an additional 4.8 million registrations were reported during the year. The BVN database has expanded by 3.4 million in the current year alone, with just a few days left until the end of 2023.

According to NIBSS, the country had 133.5 million active bank accounts as of December 2021. Although data for 2022 and 2023 are not yet available, it is anticipated that the figures will surpass those of 2021. This underscores a significant gap between registered BVNs and the number of active bank accounts.