During the first quarter of 2024, commercial banks in Nigeria closed approximately 2.021 million bank accounts as part of efforts to clean their records of dubious accounts and adhere to regulatory directives regarding the linkage of bank accounts to the National Identity Number (NIN).
This revelation comes from a report by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), which also highlighted a concerning increase in inactive bank accounts. The number of inactive accounts surged by four million or 2.0 per cent month-on-month, reaching 19.7 million in March 2024 from 19.3 million in February.
An account is classified as inactive if it registers zero transactions, including deposits, withdrawals, transfers, or point-of-sale transactions, for a consecutive period of six months.
However, amidst the closures and inactivity, the report also noted a growth in active bank accounts. The number of active accounts expanded by 6.62 million or 3.0 per cent, rising to 219.64 million from 213.02 million in February.
This surge in account activity and closures aligns with directives from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued in December 2023. The CBN mandated all commercial banks in the country to restrict tier-1 accounts lacking proper Biometric Verification Numbers (BVN) and National Identity Numbers (NIN) that were not linked by Thursday, March 1st, 2024.
According to NIBSS data on BVN enrollment, approximately 61.6 million Nigerians have BVN as of April 2024, highlighting ongoing efforts to enhance financial transparency and regulatory compliance across the banking sector.
