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In the first quarter of 2024, commercial banks in Nigeria took decisive action by closing 2.021 million bank accounts, aiming to streamline their operations and adhere to regulatory directives regarding the linkage of bank accounts to the National Identity Number (NIN).
According to a report from the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), the number of inactive bank accounts witnessed a month-on-month increase of four million, or 2.0 per cent, reaching 19.7 million in March 2024 compared to 19.3 million in February.
An account is categorized as inactive when it records no transactions, including deposits, withdrawals, transfers, or point-of-sale transactions for a period of six months.
However, amid these closures, the data from the “Industry Bank Account Database,” a monthly report compiled by NIBSS based on information provided by banks, revealed a contrasting trend. The number of active bank accounts surged by 6.62 million, or 3.0 per cent, to reach 219.64 million in March, up from 213.02 million in February.
This move comes in response to a directive issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in December 2023, requiring all commercial banks to restrict tier-1 accounts that lacked proper Biometric Verification Number (BVN) and National Identity Number (NIN) linkage by March 1st, 2024.
As of April 2024, data from NIBSS indicates that 61.6 million Nigerians have been enrolled for BVN, highlighting the significant progress in achieving widespread BVN adoption across the country.
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