Nigeria’s banking system has witnessed a dramatic spike in account closures and dormancy, with commercial banks shutting down 29.4 million accounts as of March 2025, according to new data from the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS).

This purge comes in the wake of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) directive mandating all financial institutions to link National Identity Numbers (NIN) and Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) to all tier-1 accounts or face restrictions.

Dormant accounts surge amid verification crackdown

The policy, which had a compliance deadline of March 1, 2024, aims to improve identity verification, eliminate ghost accounts, and fight fraud within the banking system.

According to NIBSS, banks recorded a peak of 33.29 million closed accounts in February 2025, before some accounts were reactivated, bringing the number down to 29.4 million in March. Still, this marks a 30.43% year-on-year increase, compared to 22.54 million closed accounts in March 2024.

In addition to the mass closures, the number of inactive or dormant accounts has ballooned to 33.39 million, a significant 71.3% increase from 19.79 million in March 2024.

These are accounts that have not recorded any financial activity, including deposits, withdrawals, transfers, or POS transactions, for at least six months.

The rising dormancy points to a broader trend of account holders either failing to complete their NIN-BVN linkage or abandoning accounts entirely amid growing regulatory demands.

NIN-BVN deadline reshaping banking landscape

The closures cut across major financial institutions including Access Bank, Zenith Bank, UBA, and others, which have intensified compliance efforts since the CBN directive.

Experts warn that this could complicate the country’s goal of expanding financial inclusion, especially among low-income and rural populations who may lack easy access to registration centres.

In December 2023, the CBN instructed all deposit money banks to restrict transactions on tier-1 accounts not linked to both BVN and NIN, signalling the start of a system-wide cleanup.

The policy particularly targets low-KYC accounts often associated with fraud and identity inconsistencies.

While this move is expected to boost transparency and data integrity in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem, it also raises concerns about digital exclusion for the unbanked and underbanked.

Financial inclusion in focus

As of July 2025, NIBSS data shows 66.23 million Nigerians had enrolled for BVN, up from 61.6 million in April 2024, but still far from covering Nigeria’s estimated adult population.

Despite the closures, active bank accounts have grown significantly, reaching 320.05 million in March 2025, up 45.7% from 219.64 million a year earlier.

This suggests that while banks are weeding out non-compliant accounts, legitimate financial activity continues to expand.

The big question now is how well banks can balance regulatory compliance with inclusive banking, as millions remain locked out of formal financial services pending proper verification.

For account holders yet to link their NINs, time is running out.

4 Simple steps to link your NIN, BVN to your bank account

Legit.ng earlier reported that CBN has instructed all bank customers to link their National Identification Number (NIN) and Bank Verification Number (BVN) to their bank account(s).

Recall that in a circular on December 1, 2023, the CBN had directed that banks should place restrictions on all Tier 1 bank accounts without BVN.

Tier 1 accounts are those that can be opened with a valid identity or proof of address.