BVN-linked bank account holders now 66.2m, says NIBSS

Bank account holders linked with Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) in the country increased to 66.2 million as of July 2025, according to the latest data released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).

The figure reflects a steady rise in enrolment, highlighting ongoing efforts by financial institutions and regulators to strengthen identity verification and curb fraud in the financial system.

The BVN, introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee in 2014, serves as a unique identifier for each customer across the banking ecosystem. It has become a cornerstone of Nigeria’s financial inclusion and anti-fraud initiatives, enabling more secure and transparent transactions.

According to NIBSS, the surge in BVN enrolment is tied to increasing mobile and digital banking adoption, the expansion of agency banking, and tighter enforcement of know Your Customer (KYC) rules by banks. The system now links millions of savings, current, and domiciliary accounts to verified biometric data.

According to industry experts, the milestone is a positive development for the financial sector.

“A growing BVN database not only boosts consumer confidence but also helps banks to reduce exposure to identity-related fraud,” a fintech consultant, Adebayo Adeleke, said, adding: “It is also essential for delivering personalised financial services and driving digital lending.”

Despite the growth, analysts note that the number still falls short of Nigeria’s estimated adult population, signalling a gap in financial inclusion.

As of July 2025, the country’s adult population was estimated to be over 110 million, meaning nearly 40 per cent of eligible individuals still lack a BVN.

Stakeholders have called for more aggressive BVN enrolment campaigns, especially in rural and underbanked regions, to capture unregistered account holders and accelerate the government’s financial inclusion targets.

In line with this, the CBN has been working with commercial banks, mobile money operators, and fintechs to expand biometric registration points and simplify onboarding processes for informal sector participants.
ALSO, NIBSS has stated that the number of active bank accounts in the country increased to 320 million in the first quarter of 2025.

It further disclosed that the country’s cashless transactions rose to N295 trillion from N237.11 trillion in the corresponding quarter of 2024.

The NIBSS latest report highlighted the growing reliance on digital payments nationwide.

Details from the report showed that electronic payment channels were used 2.21 billion times in Q1, while point-of-sale (PoS) terminals recorded 776.94 million transactions.

The NIBSS report corroborates ACI Worldwide data, which indicated that the volume of Nigeria’s real-time payment transactions will reach 19.7 billion by 2028, up from 7.9 billion in 2023.

“In Nigeria, real-time payments are quickly becoming a viable alternative to cash, historically the dominant choice for payments in the country,” ACI had said.

Guardian