The country’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) database expanded to 69.32 million in June 2026, according to latest data released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).
With the BVN database standing at 67.8 million as of December 31, 2025, it means that the database grew by 1.53 million in the first half of this year.
New Telegraph’s analysis of the BVN database, however, shows a slowdown in BVN enrollment rate in recent months compared with previous years.
For instance, with less than 1.1 million BVN enrollment recorded for the first six months of this year, it is highly unlikely that BVN registrations for 2026 will come close to the 4.3 million total registrations recorded for the preceding year.
Analysts note that while the expansion in the BVN database last year was largely driven by the introduction of the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN) initiative, which enables Nigerians in the diaspora to do their BVN enrolment remotely, thus removing physical barriers and increasing cross-border financial engagement, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in March this year, announced a revised BVN regulatory framework, that saw it introducing stricter controls on suspected fraudulent transactions, BVN enrolment, and data access within the banking system.
According to the regulator, the amendments to the BVN framework, which came into effect on May 1, 2026, were aimed at strengthening fraud monitoring, improving identity management within the financial system and safeguarding the integrity of banking transactions, by strengthening identity verification and ensuring that BVN registration aligns with legally recognised age thresholds.
Thus, under the revised BVN framework, the apex bank introduced a stricter age requirement for BVN enrolment, limiting registration to 18-year-old individuals and above.
Also, under the new framework, customers will only be allowed to change the phone number associated with their BVN once.
The CBN further stated: “Under the new guidelines, financial institutions are required to establish and maintain a temporary watch-list for BVNs linked to suspected fraudulent transactions reported within the banking system.
“A BVN may remain on this temporary Watch-list for a maximum period of twenty-four (24) hours, during which the BVN owner shall be contacted to provide clarification regarding the identified transaction(s).”
Launched on February 14, 2014, by the CBN in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, the NIBSS, and the German firm Dermalog, the BVN scheme was designed to capture the biometrics of all bank customers and provide each with a unique 11-digit identification number that can be verified across the Nigerian banking industry.
