The Central Bank of Nigeria has weighed in on the on-going misinformation in the public domain which claims that the Bank Verification Number, popularly known as BVN for short, expires after 10 years.
The apex bank has come out to debunk the claim and state the facts to the effect that the Number is for the holder’s entire lifetime.
In a statement dated May 10, 2023,sgned by its spokesman the bank said its attention had been drawn to “ reports suggesting that the Bank Verification Number(BVN) issued by the Bank in collaboration with Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) expires after a ten-year period.”
“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”, the CBN spokesman explained.
Clarifying further, the bank’s Acting Director of Corporate Communication who doubles as the spokesman, Dr. Isa Abdulmumin states, “However, the regulatory framework for BVN issued by the CBN in 2021 stipulates that customers can only change their record due to certain conditions spelt out in the documents and after being cleared by relevant authorities.” “Therefore, we urge bank customers in the country, especially those whose biometrics have been captured by the system, to continue using their unique identities as they last their entire lifetime.
Recently, the CBN had announced plans to close down all accounts that have no Bank Verification Number and so the rumour that the number lapses after 10 years must have sent shivers down the spines of customers whose enrollment are either close to or have reached the 10 years mark. This clarification therefore settles such concerns.