In the first quarter of 2024 (Q1’24), Nigerian commercial banks took decisive action by closing at least 2 million bank accounts.

The primary objective behind this move was to eliminate questionable accounts, particularly those customers who failed to adhere to regulatory directives regarding the linkage of their accounts to the National Identity Number (NIN).

This development stemmed from a directive issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in December 2023. The directive mandated all commercial banks to restrict tier-1 accounts lacking proper NIN and Biometric Verification Number (BVN) linkage.

According to a recent report by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), over two million accounts were closed in compliance with the CBN directive. Additionally, the report revealed a month-on-month (MoM) increase of four million inactive bank accounts, totaling 19.7 million in March 2024 compared to 19.3 million in February.

However, amidst the closure of inactive accounts, the report also highlighted a positive trend: the number of active bank accounts in Nigeria surged by 6.62 million or 3.0 percent, reaching 219.64 million from 213.02 million in February.

An inactive bank account is defined as one that registers zero transactions, including deposits, withdrawals, transfers, or point-of-sale transactions, for a period of six months.