The Central Bank of Nigeria has introduced stricter rules for Bank Verification Number (BVN) enrolment and data access to curb suspected fraudulent activities, effective May 1, 2026.
The announcement came over the weekend in a statement titled “Addendum to the Revised Regulatory Framework for Bank Verification Number (BVN) Operations and Watchlist for the Nigerian Banking Industry 2021”, signed by Musa Jimoh, Director of the Payment System Policy Department.
The revised framework sets clear limitations for BVN management.
Enrollment is restricted to individuals aged 18 and above, while changes to phone numbers linked to a BVN will now be allowed only once.
Financial institutions are also required to maintain a temporary watchlist for BVNs involved in suspected fraudulent transactions, lasting a maximum of 24 hours, during which BVN owners must be contacted to clarify the transactions.
“The 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 emphasised that it retains exclusive rights to access BVN databases and will approve access for financial institutions only under exceptional circumstances in line with existing laws.
“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) reserved the right to approve access to the BVN databases in extenuating circumstances and in accordance with the provisions of extant laws,” the statement added.
The directive forms part of the apex bank’s broader strategy to enhance financial system stability and combat fraud.
In a related development on Tuesday, the CBN issued new regulations titled “Baseline Standards for Automated Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Solution for Financial Institutions in Nigeria”, mandating financial institutions to implement automated solutions to detect and prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.
