Will the Bank Verification Number (BVN) expire after 10 years has been lingering on the minds of some Nigerians following a page now deleted on the CBN’s website.
Reacting to the now deleted document, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has stated that the Bank Verification Number (BVN) it issues in partnership with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has no expiry date.
CBN denied reports that the BVN expires after ten years in a statement posted on its verified Twitter page on Thursday.
BrandSpur Nigeria reports that the search of the URL on the Wayback Machine, a web archive, turns up an FAQ document that corroborates the report about the BVN expiry date. Similarly, a search for the BVN FAQ page of a commercial bank shows the same information.
The BVN is an 11-digit number that is unique to each individual, yet the same across all bank institutions for the same individual.
You must first obtain a bank verification number in order to possess and run a banking account in Nigeria.
“The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to reports suggesting that the Bank Verification Number (BVN) issued by the Bank in collaboration with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) expires after a ten-year period,” the statement signed by Isa Abdulmumin, CBN spokesperson, reads.
“Contrary to these claims, we wish to clarify that the BVN issued in Nigeria has no expiry date. Once a customer’s biometrics have been captured and enrolled in the database of NIBSS, the BVN remains for life.
“However, the Regulatory Framework for BVN issued by the CBN in 2021 stipulates that customers can only change their records due to certain conditions spelt out in the document and after being cleared by relevant authorities.”
Click to access CBN%20Press%20Release%20BVN%20100523.pdf
