Est. read time: 2 minutes
Massive Crowd Expected At Banks Over Fresh CBN Directive
Yinka Olajoyetan, Lagos
Many commercial banks across Nigeria are expected to experience a surge in customers influx following the directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for Banks to freeze all accounts and wallets without BVN or National Identity Number (NIN) by 1st of March, 2024.
Checks by kadecommunicationng on the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) showed that the total number of bank accounts in the country as of 2021 was
191.4 million, out of which 133.5 were actively in use.
Further checks revealed that the banking industry recorded 59 million (58,999,262) BVN counts as of October 9, 2023.
Speaking with Kadecommunicationng, a bank official with one of Nigeria’s leading commercial banks, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO Plc) explained that he expects to see crowd infront of most of the banks branches in the coming weeks.
The bank official who wouldn’t want his name in print as he has not been authorized to speak onbehalf of the bank explained that, “You know we have a very large customer base. I expect to see many GTCO bank entrances crowded in the coming weeks like what we experienced during the Naira scarcity period.
“It’s going to be tough for customers, but I hope many don’t leave it till when it’s late before they come to the bank to do the needful as regards their NIN and BVN. We need to avoid the kind of rush that we saw during the cash swap period that preceded the Naira scarcity era.”
Recall that massive crowd sprang up infront of most banks across the country following the redesigning of the N200, N500 and N1000 notes by former Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele in December 2022.
The CBN had then said the old Naira notes would remain legal tender until January 31, 2023, the eve of the general elections, and this led to the scarcity of the Naira notes, which crippled the economy.