CBN Places Over 6,000 BVNs on Watch List Over Fraudulent Transaction

According to information released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), there are at least 6,047 Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) on its watch list due to fraudulent activities.

This was mentioned by CBN in its Financial Stability June 2022 report, which was posted on its website in December 2022.

11,871 BVNs have been added to the watch list this year as deceased individuals, according to the study.

The Bank Verification Number (BVN) is an 11-digit unique identity for each individual across the Nigerian Banking industry. The BVN ensures you can engage securely in transactions at any Point of Banking operations in

In order to determine compliance with the Regulatory Framework for BVN Operations and Watch-List for the Nigerian Banking Industry in the review period, 28 banks and the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System were evaluated, per the study.

It stated that some breaches were discovered by the assessment and that consequently, regulatory actions were taken.

The number of enrolled BVNs increased to 54.65 million, according to the data, from 2.72 million in the first half of this year.

According to the data, there were 130.57 million BVN-linked accounts out of 148.46 million active accounts.

The report read in part, “Also, 2,722,518 BVNs were enrolled, bringing total BVN enrolment to 54,651,086, reflecting an increase of 5.24 percent over 51,928,568 enrolments at the end of December 2021.

“The number of accounts linked with BVNs was 130,569,656 out of 148,462,947 active customer accounts, while the number of watch-listed BVNs associated with fraud and deceased persons stood at 6,047 and 11,871, respectively.”

Based on the report, the total number of BVNs flagged for fraud rose by 13.09 percent, from 5,347 in December 2021 to 6,047 in June 2022