Compliance requirements for Nigeria

Requirements for Starter Businesses

A government-issued form of identification — Nigerian Bank Verification Number, Driver’s Licence, National Identity Number (NIN Slip), Voter’s Card or Passport).
Bank Verification Number (BVN).
Personal bank account number.
Your contact/business owner information.

All the information you provide must belong to the same person, i.e., the names must match all these requirements. If these details do not match, we cannot activate your account.

Requirements for Registered Businesses

For Nigeria-based Registered businesses, we require different types of information from you based on your Registration type. We've outlined a brief overview of the different Registration types and the information we require below:

Registration type	Who falls under this Registration type?	Documents required
Incorporated trustees	These are businesses that are registered with the CAC as incorporated trustees. These businesses have a CAC/IT number. Examples of businesses with this registration type include NGOs, religious organisations, professional associations, etc.	Form CAC IT/1: This is the Incorporated Trustees Application Form. CAC/IT Number: This is the Registration number for Incorporated Trustees. You must also provide information on at least two business directors.
Incorporated company	This is a business incorporated with the CAC with an RC number. They include Private and Public companies as well as companies Limited by guarantee.	There are six ownership structures under this Registration type: Privately Held (December 2020 to date) RC Number: This is the registration number for an incorporated company. Memorandum and Articles of Association Certificate of Incorporation: Certificate showing that the company is duly incorporated. Tax Identification Number: This is a unique identification number issued to taxpayers by the FIRS. CAC Status Report: Status of application for company registration with CAC. You must also provide information on at least one business director. Finally, you will need to identify people who own at least 50% of this business together. Public (December 2020 to date) RC Number: This is the registration number for an incorporated company. Memorandum and Articles of Association Certificate of Incorporation: Certificate showing that the company is duly incorporated. Tax Identification Number: This is a unique identification number issued to taxpayers by the FIRS. CAC Status Report: Status of application for company registration with CAC. You will also need to provide information on at least two business directors. Privately Held (2017-2020) Form CAC 1.1: This is the application for registration with the CAC. Memorandum and Articles of Association. RC Number: This is the registration number for an incorporated company. Certificate of Incorporation: Certificate showing that the company is duly incorporated. Tax Identification Number: This is a unique identification number issued to taxpayers by the FIRS. You must also provide information on at least two business directors. Finally, you will need to identify people who own at least 50% of this business together. Public (2017-2020) Form CAC 1.1: This is the application for registration with the CAC. Memorandum and Articles of Association RC Number: This is the registration number for an incorporated company. Certificate of Incorporation: Certificate showing that the company is duly incorporated. Tax Identification Number: This is a unique identification number issued to taxpayers by the FIRS. You must also provide information on at least two business directors. Privately Held (Pre-2017) Form CAC 3: Notification of Registered address or any changes therein. Form CAC 2: Statement of Share Capital and Return of Allotment. Form CAC 7: Particulars of Directors. Memorandum and Articles of Association. RC Number: This is the application for registration with the CAC. Certificate of Incorporation: Certificate showing that the company is duly incorporated. Tax Identification Number: This is a unique identification number issued to taxpayers by the FIRS. You must also provide information on at least two business directors. Finally, you will need to identify people who own at least 50% of this business together. Public (Pre-2017) Memorandum and Articles of Association RC Number: This is the application for registration with the CAC. Certificate of Incorporation: Certificate showing that the company is duly incorporated. Tax Identification Number: This is a unique identification number issued to taxpayers by the FIRS. You must also provide information on at least two business directors.
Business name registration	These are businesses registered with the CAC as Business Names. They have a BN number and are typically sole proprietorship businesses.	Certificate of Business Name: This Certificate shows that the Business Name has been registered with the CAC. BN Number: This is the Registration number for the Certificate of Business Name. Form CAC BN 1: This is the application for registration of Business Name. You will also need to provide the information of at least one owner of the business.
Free zone entity	These businesses are exempt from the normal regime applicable in Nigeria, particularly about Customs duty and tax.	Operating License: This is the license to operate a Free Zone issued by NEPZA. CTC of Notice of Situation: The registration document shows the business's registered address. Particulars of Directors or Any Claim Therein: This is the Registration document with the details of all the business directors. Certificate of Registration: This is the NEPZA certificate of registration. Statement of Share Capital and Return of Allotment details the company's issued share capital. NEPZA Number: This is the company's registration number. Memorandum and Articles of Association You will also need to provide information on at least two directors of your business and two beneficial owners.
Government entity	This is a government agency, an organisation in the government responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions.	Authorisation Letter: A letter from your organisation that permits Paystack to collect payments on your behalf. Official Gazette: Notice of the government agency's creation in the national or state Official Gazette.
Private entity created by government approval	This is a private business whose creation was approved by the ministry or government agency.	Government Approval Document: This is the approval document from a ministry or government agency. Document showing business owners.
Cooperative society	Cooperative Societies are financial institutions owned and operated by their members. They tend to offer savings, lending, investments and sometimes insurance.	Cooperative Certificate: This is the Cooperative Society Certificate issued by the state government. Certified Application Form: This is the Registration of Cooperative Societies application form. You must also provide information on at least two business directors.

If you do not have a CAC Form 3 for your business, you can share a proof of address in that field instead. This proof of address should bear your business's name and current address, and the provided document should not be older than six months. You can find out what serves as a valid proof of address for your business or an individual here.

If you need further help with submitting these documents, please reach out to us via our contact form or send us an email at support@paystack.com.

BVN validation for directors of Nigerian businesses

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) mandates Nigerian business directors to consent for their Bank Verification Number (BVN) to be used for identity validation.

To further protect the confidentiality of your BVN data, the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has introduced a consent management platform called iGree. As part of the Paystack onboarding process, you will be redirected to the iGree consent management platform to authorize using your BVN for Know Your Customer (KYC) verification.

This additional step aims to safeguard your BVN data from potential misuse by malicious individuals who may have access to your personal information. You can check out the CBN directive here for more information.

How it works

While providing the information on the directors of your company, you will need to consent for BVN validation.

Once you click the 'Provide BVN consent' button, you will be redirected to the iGree consent management platform. You’ll be asked to grant Paystack consent to process your personal information there.

If you allow Paystack to process your information, you will be prompted to provide your BVN. An OTP (One-Time Password) will be sent to either the phone number or email address associated with your BVN, and you can select your preferred method of OTP delivery.
After receiving the OTP, you must input it to complete the consent process. Once you've done that, you're all set and can proceed with completing the Compliance form.

Frequently asked questions

After providing my BVN, will I have to provide another means of ID?

Yes, in addition to providing your BVN, business directors must provide another valid, government-issued ID. We accept several documents as valid ID means, including a Driver's Licence, National Identity Number (NIN) Slip, Voter's Card, or Passport.

What if I have lost access to the phone number or email address linked to my BVN?

If you cannot access the phone number or email address associated with your BVN, you won't be able to receive the OTP for consent for BVN validation. In such cases, you would need to contact your bank to update your contact information to a phone number or email you can access. This will enable you to complete the BVN validation process.

Why am I not receiving the OTP even though I can access my contact information?

NIBSS’s technical team sends the OTP. The OTP delivery may be delayed in some cases. You can have the OTP delivered via SMS to the phone number linked to your BVN or via the email address linked to your BVN. If you choose to have it delivered via email, check your Spam folder to ensure you don’t miss the mail.

If you still do not receive this OTP, you would need to contact your bank to ensure there's no mistake in your contact information, such as a typo in your email address or a wrong digit in your phone number.

What do I do if I face issues when providing my BVN?

Ideally, once you input your BVN, you’ll be sent an OTP by NIBSS’s technical team to your preferred contact option, and you can proceed with providing the rest of your compliance information after this is done.

However, it is possible that you may encounter some issues with this process. For example, it’s possible that the iGree consent management platform may be having a brief downtime so you may experience a network error that causes the OTP to not be sent. Even if you receive the OTP, you could also experience a ‘Failed to Fetch’ error if the consent management platform is down.

In this case, you should wait a couple of hours and try again to provide your BVN information when the platform is back up. If you face any other issues or need clarification, you can reach out to us at support@paystack.com, and we’d be happy to help resolve this.

SCUML Certification for Designated Non-Financial Institutions in Nigeria

A SCUML certificate is an official document issued by the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML) in Nigeria.

It certifies that an individual or business entity has fulfilled the requirements and complies with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations in Nigeria. This certificate is typically required for designated institutions and other entities to demonstrate their commitment to preventing illegal financial activities.

Based on regulatory provisions, we require the following businesses to provide a SCUML certificate before activating their account:

Business outfits dealing in jewellery and precious stones
Car dealers
Dealers in luxury goods
Chartered accountants;
Audit firms
tax consultants
Clearing and settlement companies
Hotels
Casinos
Supermarket
Law firms, notaries, and other independent legal practitioners
Accountants and accounting firms
Trust and company service providers
Estate surveyors and valuers
Mortgage Brokers
Non-profit organizations
Dealers in precious stones and metals
Dealers in real estate, estate developers, estate agents, and brokers
Hospitality Industry
Consultants and Consulting Companies
Construction Companies
Importers and dealers in cars or any other automobiles
Dealers in mechanized farming equipment and machinery
Practitioners of mechanized farming
Pool betting
Lottery businesses, including fixed odds, pari-mutuel, sports lottery (betting), scratch card gaming, and other forms of gaming

To get a SCUML certificate, please register on the SCUML website here.

You can also access the requirements for getting a SCUML certificate here.

For more information, please visit the official SCUML website here.