Over 57m Nigerians have enrolled for BVN, says CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says over 57 million citizens have enrolled for their bank verification numbers (BVN) as at March 31, 2023.

This represents a 5 percent increase compared to the 54.65 million BVNs enrolled in the first half of 2022.

Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, spoke on the challenges of the apex bank and key policies introduced to make payments faster, at the 34th seminar for finance correspondents and business editors in Calabar on Tuesday.

He said the CBN has also continued to collaborate with relevant stakeholders in the adoption of payment system instruments and channels.

According to Emefiele, Nigeria is currently the first country on the continent, and second in the world to have fully launched a live CBDC.

“The payment system regulation and management role of the CBN is very critical in the achievement of its primary mandate of price and monetary stability conducive for inclusive and sustainable economic growth,” he said.

“Cognisance of the implications of the risks that accompany digital innovations and technological advancement globally, the CBN has continued to ensure a healthy balance between the adoption of latest innovations and development of reliable mitigants to the associated inherent and operational risks to both the payments system and the rest of the economic sectors in Nigeria.”

POOR TELECOMS INFRASTRUCTURE, FRAUDSTERS MAJOR CHALLENGES 

Emefiele said the implementation of CBN’s initiatives in the banking sector has been slow due to several issues in the industry.

The apex bank governor noted that payment is highly reliant on stable telecommunication networks and power infrastructure.

“These are currently not optimal in Nigeria, thus, impacting the stability and resilience of the payments system,” he said.

“Some entities have continued to exploit access to information technology to engage in regulated activities without the appropriate licenses and authorisation.

“However, the collaborative effort between the CBN and other players in the industry is helping to curtail the nefarious activities of these fraudsters.”

On mitigating cyber fraud and other related crimes, the CBN governor said integrating the BVN has helped the financial industry in investigating crimes.

“We have continued to support the aggressive enrollment of prospective banking customers in the informal sector onto the BVN system,” Emefiele said.

In addition to dealing with challenges posed by cyber threats, Emefiele said the CBN has put in place the Nigeria Electronic Fraud forum (NeFF), payment card industry data security standard; financial industry cybersecurity fusion centre, amongst other initiatives.

“With these initiatives in place, the CBN has demonstrated irrevocable commitment to ensuring the stability and safety of the Nigerian payment system,” he added.

“Accordingly, we shall continue to deepen our oversight of the activities of operators in the payments system as well as ensure full compliance with regulations. In this regard, examiners and supervisors would continue to ensure that services delivered by participants meet required security standards.”