What is VNIN and how do I use it to Verify my Identity on Sycamore?

This article will tell you all you need to know about your Virtual NIN, how to generate one and how to use it to verify your identity.

If you're reading this, you probably already tried to generate your Virtual NIN(VNIN) or you're entirely not sure how to.

Why do we require you to provide your VNIN instead of your NIN?

Let's start with a little background story. The National Identity Management Commission(NIMC), in a bid to protect your privacy has asked that no financial institution(including Sycamore) should have access to your NIN.

In its place, the NIMC has introduced NIN tokenization, also called Virtual NIN(VNIN). The VNIN is a 16 digit alphanumeric set of characters that can only be generated by you and is only valid for 72 hours. This way, no one can have access to your NIN except you.

What's more? you can't use the same VNIN with different institutions. It is unique to each institution.

How do I generate my VNIN?

You can generate your NIN in two ways:

1. By dialing a USSD code: You can generate your VNIN by dialing * 346*3*{{insert your NIN}}*696739#

2. By using the NIMC Mobile App: