Bank account opening

Digital ID verifies customer identities during bank account opening. The national identification number (NIN) stands as a primary identity verification instrument in financial customer onboarding backed by the Mandatory Use of the National Identification Number Regulations 2017. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) circular of December 2023 mandates all financial institutions to integrate NIN and Bank Verification Number (BVN) into their know your customer (KYC) processes. These institutions include commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, other financial institutions (OFIs), and mobile money operators. Under the tiered KYC framework, Tier 1 accounts require either BVN or NIN, while Tier 2 and Tier 3 accounts require both BVN and NIN. The NIN-based verification framework strengthens KYC and AML/CFT (Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism) compliance, and enables accurate customer profiling across Nigeria's banking and FinTech ecosystem.