How to open a current account in Nigeria

Posted by Felix Okoli on Tuesday September 17, 2013 at 15:3:20:

A current account is a type of bank account that is used by individuals or corporate organizations that allows for payments to be made either by presentation of a cheque by a third party, or by personal demand by the account owner.

Opening a current account in Nigeria is no longer as complicated as it used
to be as there are many banks in Nigeria and times have changed.

Some Benefits of having a current bank account:
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- The account allows you the benefit of owning a Cheque book.
- It helps the owner get access to Customer Credit Facilities.
- It allows for the cashing of dividend
warrants

The requirements and procedures are different depending on the bank you
are going for. But am going to mention a general requirement for opening a
current account in Nigeria.

Basic requirements for a current account
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- Two recent passport photographs
- Utility bill not exceeding 3 months old
- Valid means of identification e.g. National Identity Card, Driving
license or Voter's Card
- About 1 or 2 reference who should be a current account holder.
- Companies may also required to bring a copy of the company's documents.

When you are ready with the requirements, you may walk into any bank branch to open the current account. You would be given a current account form to fill and it should be submitted with the other basic requirements. You would be asked to deposit an opening balance of which the limit differs from bank to bank. In most cases, its likely to be N5,000 for personal and N10,000 for corporate. After making the payment, you may be asked to come back in a few day's time for your account number and cheque book.

Those are the basic procedures for opening a current account account in Nigeria and the benefits of owning one.