The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, said on Thursday that 20,833,635 bank customers enrolled over 40 million accounts in various banks in the country under the Bank Verification Number, BVN, registration exercise as at October 25, 2015.

The BVN registration introduced by the CBN on February 14, 2014 is scheduled to end on Saturday, October 31, 2015 across the country.

Implemented in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee of the CBN, the BVN was initiated to provide unique identities for all bank customers and other users of financial services in the country.

The unique identity is established by the use of the customers’ biometrics as means of identification in all transactions undertaken with the banks.

At the expiration of the initial estimated 18 months period for the registration after the launch, there was huge apathy among bank customers, who were reluctant to register.

The poor appreciation of the benefits of the BVN resulted in last minute rush in most banking halls across the country towards the end of the June 30, 2015 deadline set by the CBN for enrolment by all customers.

The CBN extended the deadline by four months, till October 31, 2015, to allow more people register.

Credit: PremiumTimes