Bank account forms (NUBAN)

Every Nigerian bank account number (NUBAN) has 10 digits, and the last digit is a check digit worked out from the bank’s CBN code and the first 9 digits. naija-data does that calculation, so you can catch a mistyped account number before you send money or call a paid API.

A payout form

1. Show a bank dropdown of active banks that have a CBN code (so every choice can be checked).
2. Check the account number against the chosen bank.
3. Optionally, confirm the account name with your payment provider (how).

JavaScript

import { banks, getBank, isValidNuban, banksForNuban } from "naija-data";

// 1. Dropdown options: value = id, text = short name
const options = banks()
  .filter((b) => b.cbn_code)
  .map((b) => ({ value: b.id, label: b.short_name ?? b.name }));

// 2. Check the account number for the chosen bank (id, CBN code or name all work)
isValidNuban("0000014579", "first-bank");  // true
isValidNuban("0000014578", "first-bank");  // false: probably a typo

// Don't know the bank? List the banks the number could belong to.
banksForNuban("0000014579").map((b) => b.name);

getBank("GTB")?.cbn_code;                 // "058"

Python

import naija_data as ng

options = [(b.id, b.short_name or b.name) for b in ng.banks() if b.cbn_code]

ng.is_valid_nuban("0000014579", "first-bank")  # True
ng.is_valid_nuban("0000014578", "first-bank")  # False
[b.name for b in ng.banks_for_nuban("0000014579")]
ng.get_bank("GTB").cbn_code                   # '058'

Zod

import { z } from "zod";
import { nubanWithBankSchema } from "naija-data/zod";

const Payout = nubanWithBankSchema(); // { account, bank }
Payout.parse({ account: "0000014579", bank: "first-bank" }); // ok
Payout.safeParse({ account: "0000014578", bank: "first-bank" }).success; // false: "This account number is not valid for the selected bank."

Django

from django import forms
from django_naija import forms as ngforms

class PayoutForm(ngforms.NUBANFormMixin, forms.Form):
    bank = ngforms.BankField()             # banks with a CBN code
    account_number = ngforms.NUBANField()  # checked against the chosen bank

REST API

curl "https://naija-data-api.asgatcreation.workers.dev/v1/validate/nuban?account=0000014579&bank=first-bank"
# {"data": {"account": "0000014579", "bank": {...}, "valid": true}}
curl "https://naija-data-api.asgatcreation.workers.dev/v1/validate/nuban?account=0000014579"
# {"data": {"account": "0000014579", "candidates": [...]}}

A valid check digit is not proof the account exists

Exactly 1 in 10 random numbers passes for any given bank. The check catches typos; only a name enquiry through your payment provider confirms the account. See account names.

OPay, PalmPay and other wallets

OPay, PalmPay and similar wallets are not in the NUBAN check: they have no CBN bank code, and their account number is usually the customer’s phone number without its first 0. To accept them:

import { parsePhone } from "naija-data";

const looksLikeWallet = parsePhone("0" + "8031234567")?.type === "mobile"; // true

Then confirm the account with your payment provider, using the provider’s code for that wallet.

Good to know

• Bank status. banks() returns active institutions only. Pass activeOnly = false / active_only=False to include banks that merged or lost their licence (each has status and status_date).
• Types. type is one of commercial, merchant, non_interest, payment_service_bank, mobile_money_operator, microfinance, mortgage, development_finance.
• Codes. cbn_code (3 digits for banks, 5 for others) is used for NUBAN; nip_code (6 digits) is the NIBSS instant-payment code where known. Codes confirmed by only one source are listed in unverified_fields.
• Source: the CBN’s register of licensed financial institutions; codes cross-checked between providers.