Records from he Nigerian Interbank Settlement Scheme (NIBSS) have shown that about 36.8 million bank accounts have been linked to the Bank Verification Number (BVN).
This represents 51 per cent of the total number of active bank accounts as of February 17 2019.
The number of active bank accounts, according to the NIBSS data, is 71.79 million.
BVN is a unique number for customers of banks in Nigeria, which contains biometric details of customers including the fingerprint of all ten fingers and facial image.
The Central Bank of Nigeria through the Bankers’ Committee and in collaboration with all banks in Nigeria launched a centralised biometric identification system for the banking industry in 2014.
The biometric identification was introduced to address identity theft, reduce exposure to fraud and enhance the banking industry’s chances of being able to fish out blacklisted customers, among others.
Analysis of the data showed that the total number of bank accounts as of the end of January 2019 was 118.9 million.
According to the data, about 25.97 million current accounts were opened by bank customers while savings accounts reached 89.67 million as of January this year.
The Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mr Isaac Okoroafor, reportedly said the incidence of abandoned accounts had always been a feature of the Nigerian banking industry for many reasons.
He was quoted as saying, “A common reason is the cumbersome procedure of complete closure of an account. Many people in a hurry will withdraw to the last kobo possible and move on, abandoning the account for good.
“There is also the dearth and the absence of knowledge of a bona fide heir to the estate or poor documentation for inheritance. In most cases, abandoned accounts carry relatively low balances compared to active ones, signifying lack of interest to pursue them. The banks, however, welcome such developments because the funds represent no-cost flow and eventual profits.”
