The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has clarified that the Bank Verification Number (BVN) issued by the Bank in collaboration with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) does not expire after a ten-year period, as some reports have suggested.
In a statement issued on May 10, 2023, Dr. Isa AbdulMumin, the Acting Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, stated that the BVN remains valid for life.
“Once a customer’s biometrics have been captured and enrolled in the database of NIBSS, the BVN remains for life,” the statement reads.
“However, the Regulatory Framework for BVN issued by the CBN in 2021 stipulates that customers can only change their records due to certain conditions spelt out in the document and after being cleared by relevant authorities.
“Therefore, we urge bank customers, especially those whose biometrics have been captured by the system, to continue using their unique identifiers as they last their entire lifetime.”
