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The short answer
NIBSS says updates to BVN customer information are done physically at bank branches, so there is no NIBSS self-service route to change the phone number on your BVN from Ireland. Ask your Nigerian bank's diaspora or customer service team what it can do remotely, and note that under the CBN's 2026 addendum to the BVN rules, as reported, a phone number on a BVN may be changed only once.
The phone number on your BVN is the number your bank uses for OTPs and the one NIBSS's own services check. If you moved to Ireland and your old Nigerian line lapsed, you can find yourself locked out of BVN retrieval and some banking steps. This guide explains what the official pages say and the practical options.
Who holds the number
NIBSS keeps the BVN database, but it does not deal with customers directly. Its BVN page says: "Update of customer information shall be done at their Bank Branches physically." In other words, the bank where you enrolled, or any bank where you hold an account, is the one that submits a change, and NIBSS describes it as a branch process.
The one-change rule
ThisDay reported on 21 March 2026 that a CBN addendum to the BVN framework restricts enrolment to adults and allows amendments to the phone number on a BVN "only once". That makes the choice of new number important. If you change it to an Irish number now and later want a Nigerian number on it, you may not get a second change.
- Pick a number you expect to keep for many years.
- Consider whether your Nigerian bank will send OTPs to an Irish number; some banks only send SMS to Nigerian lines.
- If you plan to keep a Nigerian line long term, restoring that line may be better than changing the BVN record.
Options from Ireland
- Try to recover the old line first. If the Nigerian number was barred or lost, a SIM replacement may bring it back and avoid the BVN change altogether. See our guide to a barred Nigerian SIM.
- Ask your bank's diaspora desk. Some Nigerian banks run diaspora banking teams. Ask in writing whether they accept a BVN phone update without a branch visit, what documents they want (often a passport copy, a signed request and sometimes a notarised indemnity), and whether a video call can stand in for presence. We found no published remote BVN update procedure on a bank page we could read.
- Use a visit home. If you are travelling to Nigeria, book a branch appointment early in the trip in case the update needs a follow-up.
- Use a power of attorney only if the bank accepts it. Biometric updates normally need you in person. Ask before paying for a notarised document.
Check what is on your BVN now
NIBSS's USSD page lists *565*0# to retrieve a BVN, which only works from the number registered to it, and *565*1# to validate a BVN and see the registered name. Each was listed at ₦20 when the page was modified in November 2025. If *565*0# returns nothing from your current phone, that is a sign the BVN carries a different number, or that the number is linked to more than one BVN, which NIBSS says also blocks the result.
If someone else changed it
If your BVN phone number was changed without your request, treat it as possible fraud. Contact your bank's fraud desk in writing, ask for the change to be investigated and reversed, and keep the reference. If the bank does not resolve it, escalate through the CBN's consumer protection channel with your bank reference.
What to put in a written request
If your bank's diaspora desk agrees to look at a remote update, a clear letter saves a round of emails. Include your full name as on the BVN, your account number, the BVN, the old number and the new number, the reason for the change (for example, the old line lapsed after you moved to Ireland), a scan of your passport data page and Irish proof of address, and a sentence confirming you understand the change may be allowed only once. Sign and date it, and ask the bank to confirm in writing when NIBSS has accepted the update.
Example only: a reader whose old line lapsed in 2023 restored it with a SIM replacement through a relative in Lagos, so the BVN never needed changing and the one permitted change was kept in reserve.
Where Pryme fits
Pryme does not use SMS codes: sign-in is protected by an authenticator app and a transaction PIN, so a lapsed Nigerian line does not lock you out of your Pryme account. See security and multicurrency accounts. Background on the BVN itself is in our how the BVN works article. Outside Nigeria, Pryme works through regulated partners.
Questions people ask
Can I change my BVN phone number online?
NIBSS says BVN information is updated physically at bank branches. Ask your bank what it can do remotely.
How many times can I change my BVN phone number?
ThisDay reported in March 2026 that the CBN's addendum allows a phone number change only once.
How do I check the phone number on my BVN?
Dial *565*0# from the number you think is linked. It only returns your BVN from the registered number.
Can I use my Irish number on my BVN?
Possibly, if your bank accepts it, but check that the bank will send OTPs to a foreign number before you use your one change.
Sources
- NIBSS: Bank Verification Number (BVN) (updated 19 Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- ThisDay: CBN building secured, stable financial system with stricter BVN rules (21 Mar 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- NIBSS: USSD validation services (modified 12 Nov 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.