Banks in Nigeria have started instructing their customers to link their Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN).
This is a new directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that will affect many Nigerians who have not linked their BVN and NIN.
Several bank account owners are complaining about the necessity of linking these two numbers since they already did it during their bank registration.
Before any new customer can open a bank account, they must link their BVN to their account. However, the CBN now requires them to do this linkage.
What is the CBN directive?
On December 1, 2023, the CBN announced to all Nigerians through a statement to all banks that any bank account without both NIN and BVN will not be able to withdraw money from their account.
This is termed as ‘post no debit or credit,’ meaning the account owner cannot perform any debit or credit transactions on their bank accounts, and this restriction will start from April 2024.
The CBN also added that every BVN and NIN attached to any bank account must be validated.
Customers with tier 1 bank accounts, where transactions are not too many, only need to link either their BVN or NIN, while tier 2 and 3 accounts, involving frequent transactions, require both NIN and BVN to be linked.
How to link your NIN and BVN to your bank account number
Depending on your bank, there are different ways to link your NIN and BVN to your account.
While some banks allow online linking, others instruct customers to use short codes or send email requests to their account officers to initiate the process.
The general advice is for customers to visit their banks to find out the best way to link their NIN and BVN to their accounts.
Experts explain what the BVN and NIN linkage really means
The CBN has set March as the deadline for people to complete the linkage of their BVN and NIN details to their bank accounts, according to the directive.
As a reminder, banks have begun sending messages to their customers to ensure compliance with the CBN directive. They want to make sure their customers follow the CBN directive.
Finance and economy expert Irene David-Arinze said that the new linkage of both BVN and NIN by the CBN is another way to properly sanitize the financial system.
David-Arinze explained that this renewed linkage is necessary, as the CBN is trying to properly sanitize the financial system, which was in a terrible state before Governor Godwin Emefiele’s tenure.
Linking the BVN and NIN will help address several issues, including understanding the percentage of Nigerians who are financially included.
The expert mentioned that the BVN and NIN linkage will also help Nigeria trace how money flows in the economy, making it easier to trace anyone involved in fraud.
It will aid in tracing bank accounts linked to fraud or illicit financial flows and strengthen the database of customers using traditional banks and fintech platforms, according to David-Arinze.
She mentioned that it might take some time for all financial reforms, such as linking BVN and NIN, to have an impact, but it is for the good of everyone in the country, and the CBN is working to clean up the banking system thoroughly.
