As the March 1 deadline, set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for linking bank accounts with either the Bank Verification Number (BVN) or National Identity Number (NIN), expires, approximately 91 million bank accounts are at risk of being frozen.
The CBN instructed commercial banks to restrict tier-1 accounts lacking proper BVN or NIN linkage. This directive, issued on December 1, 2023, mandated the immediate placement of unfunded accounts on ‘Post No Debit or Credit,’ with funded accounts facing the same restriction effective March 1, 2024.
Over the weekend, banks intensified efforts, sending final reminders to depositors to use digital platforms or visit branches for BVN/NIN linkage to avoid potential account freezing.
The directive also required the electronic revalidation of BVN or NIN associated with all accounts by January 31, 2024.
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While the CBN has not officially clarified the consequences of non-compliance, banks have warned that failure to link BVN/NIN could result in transaction restrictions.
Consequently, panic has gripped depositors, leading to increased bank visits as customers rush to update their account information before the March 1 deadline.
As of January 26, the Nigeria InterBank Settlement System (NIBSS) reported 60,492,104 million BVN-linked accounts.
