Can One Person Have Two NRBVN Numbers

Can One Person Have Two NRBVN Numbers? Exploring the Shadows of Digital Identity Among Nigerians in the Diaspora. This is an unseen question of Digital Identity. When the Central Bank of Nigeria launched the NRBVN (Non-Resident Bank Verification Number), the goal was simple: include Nigerians abroad in the country’s expanding digital financial net. The narrative was optimistic, patriotic even. "Now, your BVN knows no border.”

But beneath this progressive facade lies a quiet confusion no one talks about: Can one person have two NRBVN numbers?

Can One Person Have Two NRBVN Numbers

On the surface, it seems impossible. After all, the BVN system both regular and non-resident was built to prevent identity duplication. But as anyone who’s navigated Nigerian bureaucracies knows, what is on paper and what happens in real life are rarely the same.

This blog post is not your average technical review or press release-style content. It's a thought-provoking, raw exploration of an issue that is real but unspoken. It's also filled with stories you won’t find in official circulars because they happen at consulates, inside bank halls, and through the blind spots of digital systems.

WHAT EXACTLY IS AN NRBVN?

To understand how duplication might occur, we must first demystify what the NRBVN truly is.

The NRBVN Defined

NRBVN stands for Non-Resident Bank Verification Number. It is a variation of the traditional BVN created specifically for Nigerians living outside the country who:

Don't have Nigerian bank accounts

Need to access government services

Want to open accounts remotely or process identity-linked requests at embassies

It’s your financial fingerprint, built for diasporans. Biometric data is collected—fingerprints, face scans, etc.—and linked to your name, passport number, and sometimes your NIN (National Identity Number).

In theory, this process should automatically check against existing BVNs. But what if it doesn’t? What if the passport number was renewed? What if your name changed through marriage or immigration processes? What if your biometric data was collected poorly or incompletely?

That’s where the cracks start to form.

The "Perfect Match" Assumption

The entire NRBVN system assumes:

Your fingerprints will be captured clearly

Your Nigerian name and foreign documents will match

You’ve never enrolled in BVN before (or you remember if you did)

It’s a noble assumption. But it doesn’t always hold water.

Consider this:

Chinyere U., now based in Germany, registered for NRBVN in 2025 through a biometric exercise facilitated by the Nigerian Embassy in Berlin. What she didn’t recall was that she had opened a Nigerian bank account as a student back in 2015 one tied to her regular BVN.

That student account was closed years ago. She assumed the NRBVN was her first interaction with the system.

But the NRBVN platform, lacking reliable sync with NIBSS at the time of her registration (due to embassy network downtime), created a new BVN-like identity with a second NRBVN tag.

Now she has two digital footprints—one in Nigeria’s domestic financial world, and another through her embassy abroad.

So the answer to our original question begins to take shape: yes, it’s possible. And it’s happening more than anyone admits.