The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), has revealed that the number of active bank accounts in Nigeria rose to 231.1 million in July 2024.
Previous NIBSS data showed that active bank accounts in the country stood at 202.6 million at the end of 2023.
This means that a total of 28.5 million accounts have been activated between January and July this year.
According to the World Bank, access to a transaction account is the first step toward broader financial inclusion since it allows people to store, send, and receive money.
However, while the NIBSS data are based on reports from banks, millions of Nigerians are financially included through fintech accounts.
Dormant accounts
According to NIBSS, the number of inactive or dormant bank accounts in the country stood at 18.9 million. This shows a slight increase in the number of abandoned accounts in the seven months as the figure stood at 18.06 million at the end of 2023.
- An inactive or dormant account is a bank account that has had no activity on it for 12 months. Banks convert accounts with no activity for a long period into inoperative or dormant accounts to curtail the risk of fraud.
- By segregating the accounts, banks bring to their workers’ attention the risk involved in these accounts and call for their due diligence.
- Similarly, the NIBSS data shows that the number of bank accounts that have been closed stood at 23.3 million.
- This shows that about 1.9 million accounts have been closed this year as the number of closed bank accounts was 21.2 million as of December 2023.
Bank accounts vs BVN
Meanwhile, the number of active bank accounts in the country as of July shows that there is still a very wide gap between the number of accounts and the number of Bank Verification Numbers (BVN), which is now a compulsory requirement for opening an account.
- The NIBSS database shows that total registered BVNs by account owners stood at 62.7 million as of the same July 2024.
- However, industry analysts believe that the difference may not be much given that multiple accounts can be linked to a single BVN.
- According to Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2023 Survey report, 5% (3 million) of banked adults do not have a BVN or NIN.
- Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in December last year announced that it would freeze accounts without a BVN and National Identification Number (NIN) from April 2024.
- In a circular by the apex bank, it instructed banks to place a “Post no Debit” restriction – which prevents customers from making withdrawals, transfers, or any other debits “for all existing Tier-1 accounts/wallets without BVN or NIN”.