Wonder! Nigerians Abandon 30m Bank Accounts

The total number of inactive bank accounts in
Nigeria stand at 30.26 million despite efforts by
banks to retain old customers and attract new ones.

The accounts, activated by commercial banks for
new holders but later abandoned to dormancy by
the customers now constitute 32.42 per cent of the
total 94.388 million activated bank accounts in the
country.

Consequently, only 64.128 million accounts that
represent 68.7 per cent of the total activated
accounts domiciled in commercial banks are
functional.

According to the latest industry statistics obtained
by Daily Trust from the Nigerian Inter-Bank
Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc over the weekend,
the growing wave of new, active and dormant
accounts across savings and currents account types
in the country has been progressively steady.

Giving the year-to-date (YTD) analysis of the latest
report up till October this year, NIBSS indicated that
a total of 4.13 million accounts have become
dormant within the period, jacking up dormant
account base to the current figure from 26.042
million it stood at the end Q4, 2015.

NIBSS further stated that from a figure of 85.018
million accounts in December 2105, total account
base in the country has grown by 11.02 per cent as
9.37 million new accounts were activated within the
period.

In its breakdown, 30.063 million, 2.896 million and
2.365 million new accounts came on board in Q1,
Q2 and Q3 2016 respectively, while in October, the
figure maintained the upward momentum by 1.12
per cent as 1.046 million new accounts were
recorded in the month alone.

Meanwhile, further analysis data revealed savings
accounts as constituting the largest chunk of the
total activated bank accounts as it stood at 66.255
million while current accounts are just 25.58
million.

Experts have also warned that Nigerians, who make
use of dormant bank accounts, should not throw
caution to the wind as the account might generate
debt.

A customer, who preferred not to be named,
recounted her ordeal with one of Nigeria’s leading
banks, saying “My dormant bank account generated
a debt which kept growing overtime, so, one must
be careful.”

According to Investopedia, a dormant account has
had no activity for a long period of time, other than
posting interest and a statute of limitations usually
does not apply to it, so funds can be claimed by
the owner or beneficiary at any time.

However, it will be recalled that until a new dormant
account management policy was released by the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) late in 2015,
commercial banks in Nigeria have always converted
customers’ money in dormant accounts from
liabilities to income of the banks. While the apex
bank put an end to this standard by also directing
banks to reverse such conversion of customers’
money made five years before the 2015 policy
which was in favour of account holders, analysts
said this must have also contributed to the growing
rate of dormant accounts.

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