The Central Bank of Nigeria says Bank Verification Number, BVN total enrollment currently stands at over fifty seven million as at the end of the first quarter of 2023.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele disclosed this at the 34th Seminar for Finance Correspondents and Business Editors in Calabar, Cross River State, with the theme “Implementing a Robust Payment Architecture: Prospects, Opportunities and Challenges”.
Represented by the Director, Monetary Policy Department of the CBN, Mahmoud Hassan, the apex bank Governor said the BVN is supporting the development of credit profiles for banking customers, which will assist in improving access to credit for credit-worthy borrowers by banks.
Mr. Emefiele who noted that the BVN has also helped the industry in investigating fraud and other related crimes said the apex bank has continued to support the aggressive enrollment of prospective banking customers in the informal sector onto the BVN system
“Bank Verification Number, BVN has continued to feature in our KYC requirements as part of plans to ease the constraint associated with poor identification of banking customers.
“We have continued to support the aggressive enrollment of prospective banking customers in the informal sector onto the BVN system.
“With a total enrollment of 57,431,355 as at 31st March 2023, the BVN is supporting the development of credit profiles for banking customers, which will assist in improving access to credit for credit-worthy borrowers by banks”, he said.
Highlighting some of the challenges militating against the implementation of some of its laudable initiatives, the apex bank Governor said CBN will continue to adopt a collaborative approach to achieve minimal cybersecurity threats in the payments system.
According to him, a holistic mechanism for addressing cybersecurity threats requires policy and operational actions by all stakeholders adding that, the bank in January 2023 issued a Risk-Based Cyber-Security Framework and Guidelines for Other Financial Institutions, to ensure their operational resilience in the face of cyber-security threats.
“Weak social infrastructure: Effective operation of payment platforms 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.
“Activities of Unlicensed Entities: Some entities have continued to exploit access to information technology to engage in regulated activities without the appropriate licenses and authorisation.
“Cyber Threats and Fraud: The activities of fraudsters continue to threaten the resilience of the payment platforms. The confidence of the public is impacted by these activities.
“However, the collaborative effort between the Central Bank of Nigeria and other players in the industry is helping to curtail the nefarious activities of these fraudsters”, he said
The CBN Governor further expressed satisfaction that the suite of initiatives have helped to open a vista of new opportunities in the payment ecosystem.
“With these revolutionary technological developments, the market has witnessed the deployment of new payment solutions. Artificial intelligence, quantum computing and contactless payments are some of the areas creating new opportunities for operators.
“The Payments System Vision (PSV) 2025, launched recently, also contains several recommendations aimed at driving implementation of some of the latest technologies to ensure the system’s resilience and safety.
“We remain proud that the Nigerian payments and financial services sector is ranked among the best in terms of innovation, regulation and resilience.
“To sustain the successes achieved, the support of all financial institutions and stakeholders is imperative. In this regard, the CBN stand ready to continue to strengthen the institutional and regulatory frameworks that would encourage further development of the payments system and promote the usage of secure and credible electronic products as stipulated in the PSV 2025 strategic plan”, he concluded.
