As a customer in Nigerian banks, the importance of ensuring your money is safely kept cannot be gainsaid; this is why you need BVN and here let’s show you how to check BVN of all banks in Nigeria.
What is BVN?
The Bank Verification Number, which simply known as BVN, is an 11-digit unique code that serves as your universal means of identity across all financial institutions, including commercial banks, in this country.
The initiative was conceived and overseen by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CNB), working in partnership with the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) — the banker’s committee — in a bid to ultimately implement the cashless policy.
Importance of the BVN
The BVN became launched on February 14, 2014, to act as a centralized biometric identification system and checkmate the rising spates of illegal and fraudulent acts in Nigeria’s banking industry. Tools like passwords and PINs that used to offer some form of security has now been made virtually useless by hackers and cybercriminals.
So, the Nigerian apex bank, CBN, created a system that utilizes the biometrics tech and analyzes human traits, like fingerprints or facial recognition, as a means of identifying a customer. This BVN system is more authentic and secure, and it is among the strategies to make sure Nigeria joins the leading 20 largest economies in the world. Your Bank Verification Number expires after ten (10) years, meaning 10 years after the Number is issued, you are required to visit your bank again to re-enrol.
The importance of the BVN is summarized as follows:
- Use of the BVN is a simple way to keep your money safe in your bank account. It is a reliable means that helps you lower the chances of unauthorized access to your account.
- It will help establish a standard that consists of regulations for transactions as well as activities in Nigeria’s banking industry.
- The BVN should reduce the long queues in Nigerian banking halls
- It’s used as your unique means of identification across every Nigerian bank, and this would help facilitate your transfer of funds as well as transactions across banks.
- Your Bank Verification Number also helps banks detect blacklisted customers, such as loan defaulters that change their bank with the intention of falling off the bank’s radar. With BVN, their history on any other bank will be restricted and curtailed as all banks use a centralized record system and monitor records of all customers.
How to Enrol for BVN
To obtain your BVN Visit any bank branch nearest to your location (it is better you go to the one you have an account with or are planning to open a new account with)
- Obtain the BVN enrolment form, then fill and submit it (in some banks, the form is on their site for download)
- Make yourself available for data capturing (like a fingerprint, facial Image, and so on)
- You will receive an acknowledgement slip with the transaction
Within 24hrs the system confirms your application, the Bank Verification Number will be generated for you. And an SMS or e-mail will be sent to you to pick it up.
Please Note: The BVN can’t be issued over the Internet because an online request for it, especially if such is coming from an unknown site, will allow access to your bank account.
What Are the Requirements to Obtain BVN?
To enrol for BVN, you have to visit your bank with a valid ID, which could be your international passport, driver’s license, or Nigerian National ID Card.
How to Check BVN via Your Handset
It is difficult to remember all the 11 digits in the BVN. Fortunately, you can easily check it on your phone.
To check your BVN on all mobile networks in Nigeria, including MTN, Glo, Airtel, and 9mobile, the universal code is *565*0#. Once you dial this code, the unique 11 digits will be sent to your mobile device immediately.
Do note that the service isn’t free, and the service provider will charge you ₦20 Naira. For this reason, you need to save the code in your Contacts, so you won’t have to pay each time you need to use it.
How to Check Your BVN Online
Apart from the use of USSD code, you can also check your BVN online. You can even link the BVN to any bank account you choose through Internet banking. Of course, you would need an internet connection for this.
To do this, open your Internet banking app and sign in to it. Then, you’ll see the code on the screen, displayed on the front page.
Wrapping up, to check your BVN, you only need to dial *565*0# on your handset, which is a universal code that works on all Nigerian cellular networks, including Glo, MTN, Airtel, and 9mobile. With the BVN, you will be able to enjoy safe and secure banking.
Having obtained it, it is also important to learn how to check BVN of all banks in Nigeria.