The Central Bank of Nigeria says the Bank Verification Number (BVN) issued in Nigeria remains for life and has no expiry date, as reported by a national newspaper.

Its Acting-Director, Corporate Communications, Alhaji Isa Abdulmumin said this in a statement on Wednesday.

He said the claim was completely false and therefore advised bank customers to be guided, accordingly.

“The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been drawn to reports suggesting that the Bank Verification Number issued by the Bank in collaboration with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) expires after a ten-year period.

“Contrary to these claims, we wish to clarify that the BVN issued in Nigeria has no expiry date.

“Once a customer’s biometrics have been captured and enrolled in the database of NIBSS, the BVN remains for life.

“However, the Regulatory Framework for BVN issued by the CBN in 2021 stipulates that customers can only change their records due to certain conditions spelt out in the document and after being cleared by relevant authorities.

“Therefore, we urge bank customers in the country, especially those whose biometrics have been captured by the system, to continue using their unique identifiers as they last their entire lifetime,” he said.

The BVN is an 11 digit number that acts as an individual’s universal ID in all banks in Nigeria.

It ensures a customer can engage securely in transactions at any Point of Banking operations.