How to open a bank account in Lagos

Lagos runs on bank transfers. Rent, school fees, a plumber, a plate of food at a buka with a sign that says “transfer accepted” - a Nigerian account is how almost all of it is paid. Cash still works, but less of it than you would expect, and a card works in fewer places than a transfer does.

The order matters

1. A NIN. Banks link your account to it.
2. A SIM in your name, linked to that NIN. The bank sends codes to it.
3. A BVN, which most banks will capture for you when you open the account.
4. The account.

Your NIN and NIMC SIM cards and internet

The BVN

The Bank Verification Number is eleven digits that identify you to every bank in Nigeria at once. Your fingerprints and photograph are captured once, at any bank, and the number follows you to every account you open afterwards. You must be at least 16 to get one in your own name.

It is not the same number as your NIN, though both are eleven digits. You need both.

Never give your BVN, your card PIN or a one-time code to anyone who calls, messages or emails you, whoever they say they are. A bank will not ask.

The three tiers

Nigerian accounts are graded by how much the bank knows about you, under the Central Bank of Nigeria’s three-tier rules. The tier sets what the account can hold and move.

A Tier 1 account can be opened in minutes, which is its point. It is also useless for rent: you cannot receive ₦1,800,000 into an account that holds ₦300,000. If you are setting up a life here, go straight to Tier 3.

What you need for a full account

• Your NIN and BVN
• A valid ID - an international passport, driver’s licence, voter’s card or national ID card
• Proof of address - a recent utility bill or a tenancy agreement. A Lagos utility bill is usually a DisCo bill or a waste bill, and this is where a new arrival gets stuck; ask the bank what it accepts before you go
• A passport photograph

Some banks still ask for a reference for a current account - a signature from an existing customer of the bank. Ask before you go, because this is the requirement most likely to cost you a second trip.

If you are not Nigerian

You can open an account, but most banks want to see that you live here legally. Expect to be asked for:

• Your passport, with a valid visa
• Your residence permit, the CERPAC, or evidence that it is in progress
• A letter from your employer
• Proof of address in Nigeria

Without a residence permit, some banks will open only a domiciliary account or nothing at all. If you are arriving to work, ask your employer which bank its payroll uses; that bank will already know the paperwork.

Domiciliary accounts

A domiciliary account holds dollars, pounds or euros. It is how most people keep foreign currency savings, receive money from abroad without converting it, and pay for things priced in dollars - international school fees, some Ikoyi rent.

Withdrawing foreign cash from one is possible but not always smooth, and the rules on it change. Check with the bank before you rely on it.

Banks and the apps

The large commercial banks have branches across Lagos and serve most salaries. The licensed microfinance banks behind apps such as OPay, PalmPay, Moniepoint and Kuda are where a great deal of everyday Lagos money moves, particularly at small businesses - the “POS” terminal at a corner shop is often one of theirs.

Many people hold one of each: a commercial bank for salary and rent, an app for daily spending. That is a reasonable arrangement.

How money moves

• Instant transfer. Bank to bank, any time, usually within seconds, using the account number and the bank’s name. This is the default for everything.
• USSD. Every bank has a short code, so a transfer works from any phone, with or without data. See USSD.
• POS. Card terminals in shops, and POS agents on the street who will give you cash from your card for a fee.
• Cards. Accepted in supermarkets, malls and restaurants; less often elsewhere.

An electronic transfer of ₦10,000 or more into an account carries a flat ₦50 levy. You will see it on statements.

Cash

Withdrawing more than ₦500,000 a week over the counter attracts a processing fee under the CBN’s cashless policy. For anything large, transfer.

The rent advance