Commercial banks in Nigeria closed 2.021 million bank accounts in the first quarter of 2024, Q1’24, to clean their books of questionable accounts and comply with regulatory orders on the linkage of bank accounts to the National Identity Number, NIN.
This significant action comes as a response to regulatory directives aimed at enhancing the integrity of the banking system. The move also reflects efforts to streamline operations and ensure compliance with evolving regulatory frameworks.
The Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) recently released a report detailing this development. It underscored the importance of aligning bank accounts with National Identity Numbers (NINs) to strengthen the identification process and minimize fraudulent activities within the banking sector.
Despite the closure of these accounts, concerns persist over the growing number of inactive bank accounts. The report highlighted a month-on-month increase of four million inactive accounts, totaling 19.7 million by March 2024.
An inactive bank account is one that has recorded zero transactions, including deposits, withdrawals, transfers, or point-of-sale transactions, for a continuous period of six months.
However, amidst these closures and concerns, there is a positive trajectory in the number of active bank accounts. The report revealed a significant increase of 6.62 million active accounts, reaching a total of 219.64 million by March 2024.