Recently, there has been rumours that the Nigerian Bank Verification Number (BVN) issued out by the apex bank of Nigeria - the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) - has an expiration date.
That has raised a lot of worries among Nigerians, because if we trust our banking system for anything, it is for their constant and consistent inefficiencies. When we remember BVN, we all recall the trauma we had to go through when it was first introduced (BVN triggers PTSD) - the long queues in banking halls, the stress, and difficulties we were all subjected to, just to comply with new banking policies and regulations.
So, thinking about renewing the BVN registration only stress us mentally, and simply go back to fear and trauma of the past.
What is BVN?
BVN means Bank Verification Number and is an 11 digit number created by the Central Bank of Nigeria for all individuals who own a bank account in Nigeria to facilitate biometric identification and curb crime.
A BVN number is issued to one individual and is used across his/her bank (s) account (s).
With the BVN number, the CBN, the apex bank of Nigeria can monitor financial activities of an individual across several banks as a single unit, and not having to monitor each bank account, in a situation where an individual operates multiple bank accounts.
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Playing the Devil's Advocate
To their defence, an individual BVN update/renewal is necessary as the system is based on a biometric system, which while some key aspects of biometrics are constant such as the fingerprint, faces do change, and facial recognition is an important aspect of BVN verification.
For me, I've experienced face verification failures for sometime associated with BVN verfication (things have changed a lot). So, a BVN update may be necessary for some.
The CBN Quickly Denied
When people brought up the issue of BVN renewal, the CBN was quick to deny this and even issued press updates as regards their stand on this. However, a simple Google search bears it all.
Interestingly, that PDF cited above has been deleted from CBN's website, so, it could simply be that they changed their stand on this or they just want to be deceptive about it till it's time to do whatever they wish! Classical Nigerian situation.
But we simply wait and watch! Whatever the case, I simply and highly recommend you move with whatever pace they come up with, as in Nigeria, hardly anyone listens.
My Advice to the CBN
If a BVN update/re-verification/renewal is highly necessary, I would recommend that one or more of the following be adopted:
- First, this should be done on an individual "need assessment" basis. Some criteria should be developed to help banks assess and individual's need for BVN re-validation, such as constant fraud report, suspected impersonation, and other yardsticks. With this, BVN revalidation would be an optional activity.
- Apps/services should be developed to facilitate this process on an individualized basis, eliminating the need for formation of queues (though Nigeria love queues so much)
- A more reasonable timeline for this should be considered, not a fire brigade style as we are all known for over here.