The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced stricter Bank Verification Number (BVN) enrolment and data access rules to prevent suspected fraudulent transactions, effective May 1, 2026.
This was disclosed in a statement issued over the weekend and titled “Addendum to the Revised Regulatory Framework for Bank Verification Number (BVN) Operations and Watchlist for the Nigerian Banking Industry 2021.”
The statement was signed by the Director of the Payment System Policy Department, Musa Jimoh.
The CBN said it introduced the ‘Revised Regulatory Framework for Bank Verification (BVN) and Watchlist for the Nigerian Banking Industry 2021’, to promote a stable financial system.
The apex bank reiterated that enrollment for the BVN be limited to individuals aged 18 and above, while amendments to phone numbers linked to a BVN will be restricted to a one-time change only.
Financial Institutions are mandated to establish and maintain a temporary watchlist for BVNs implicated in suspected fraudulent transactions reported by a financial institution.
“A BVN may remain on this temporary Watchlist for a maximum period of twenty-four (24) hours. During this period, the BVN owner shall be contacted to clarify the identified transaction(s).
Enrolment for BVN is restricted to individuals who have attained the age of eighteen (18) years and above. Amendments to phone numbers linked to a BVN shall be allowed only once,” the statement read.
The CBN insisted that it maintain an exclusive right to access BVN databases and to approve access to them by financial institutions.
“Access to the BVN databases shall be exclusively granted to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) licensed financial institutions. Notwithstanding this provision, the Central Bank of Nigeria (the Bank) reserves the right to approve access to the BVN databases in extenuating circumstances and in accordance with the provisions of extant laws,” the statement said.
The directive was part of the CBN’s recent regulatory amendments in combating fraudulent activities.
On Tuesday, the bank issued new regulations, “Baseline Standards for Automated Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Solution for Financial Institutions in Nigeria’, to all financial institutions, in a bid to automatically counter money laundering and terrorism financing.
James Emejo
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