List of Nigerian Bank Codes and Sort Codes

Introduction 

Bank codes in Nigeria are the 3-digit numbers that tell Nigeria's Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) exactly which institution a NUBAN account number belongs to, and getting one digit wrong is the difference between a transfer landing safely and a transfer landing nowhere near where it was meant to go. 

This list covers all three code systems Nigerians actually search for  CBN/NIBSS bank codes, USSD transfer codes, and SWIFT/BIC codes for international transfers  in one place, cross-checked against multiple sources rather than copied from a single list, because a bank-code page is the one kind of content where "probably right" isn't good enough.

What Is a Nigerian Bank Sort Code (and Is It the Same as a Bank Code)?

Yes  in Nigeria today, "sort code" and "bank code" refer to the same 3-digit number. Before 2011, Nigerian banks used a separate, longer sort-code system tied to individual branches, similar to the UK model. 

When the Central Bank of Nigeria rolled out the Nigeria Uniform Bank Account Number (NUBAN) scheme, that branch-level sort code was replaced by a single 3-digit institution code assigned to each bank, embedded directly inside the customer's 10-digit NUBAN account number (padded to a 6-digit field internally, with three leading zeros). 

The old term "sort code" stuck around in everyday use even though the underlying system changed  so when someone searches for a bank's "sort code" in Nigeria today, what they actually need is that bank's 3-digit NIBSS code, listed below.

CBN/NIBSS Bank Codes for Nigeria's Major Commercial Banks
 

Bank Codes for Popular Digital Banks and Fintechs
 

USSD Transfer Codes for Major Nigerian Banks

A USSD code lets you send money by dialing a short code on any phone  no internet, no app, no smartphone required. Dial only from the phone number registered to your account, and never share the PIN step of a USSD transfer with anyone claiming to help you "complete a transaction," a common social-engineering tactic that has nothing to do with a genuine bank process.

SWIFT/BIC Codes for International Transfers to Nigerian Banks

A SWIFT (or BIC) code is what a bank outside Nigeria needs to route an international wire transfer to a Nigerian account  a completely different system from the domestic bank code above, and the two are not interchangeable. 

How to Use a Bank Code, USSD Code, and SWIFT Code Correctly

A domestic transfer between two Nigerian bank accounts  through a banking app, internet banking, or the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) rail  needs the recipient's 3-digit bank code, though most apps now auto-detect it once you enter the 10-digit NUBAN account number, since that code is already embedded inside it. A USSD transfer needs only the short code above, dialed from the registered phone line, followed by the prompts for account number and PIN. An international wire transfer into Nigeria needs the recipient bank's SWIFT/BIC code, the recipient's full NUBAN account number, and  depending on the sending bank  an intermediary or correspondent bank detail that the sending institution, not the receiving one, will specify.

Why Bank Code Accuracy Matters for Nigerian Businesses and Fintechs

For an individual, an incorrect bank code usually means a failed or delayed transfer. For a business processing payouts, payroll, or merchant settlements at volume, the same error at scale becomes a reconciliation problem, a customer-trust problem, and  if it happens often enough  a fraud-exposure problem, because incorrect account-and-bank-code pairs are also exactly the pattern that account-takeover fraud produces. Businesses that verify bank account ownership online before a payout, rather than trusting a submitted account number and bank code at face value, catch both honest data-entry mistakes and deliberate account-substitution fraud before the money moves rather than after.

This is also where BVN and account-verification checks earn their place in a payout workflow rather than being treated as a compliance-only requirement. Youverify's guides on checking BVN details and using BVN to confirm account details cover the verification step that should sit between "customer submits a bank code and account number" and "business releases funds"  a step that catches exactly the kind of mismatch a wrong bank code creates.

Bank-Specific BVN and Verification Guides

If a bank code above is for an account you're setting up or verifying, Youverify has bank-specific guides for checking BVN details directly with several of Nigeria's largest banks: Access Bank, First Bank, GTBank, Zenith Bank, and UBA.

Conclusion

Bank codes in Nigeria  the domestic NIBSS/CBN code, the USSD short code, and the international SWIFT/BIC code  solve three different transfer problems, and treating them as interchangeable is the most common reason a payment goes astray. The codes in this list are cross-checked across multiple sources rather than pulled from one, but codes do occasionally change, especially for newer digital banks and USSD short-codes specifically, so a large or first-time transfer is always worth a quick confirmation against your own bank's official app or support line before you send.

See how Youverify's bank account verification and BVN-checking tools help businesses confirm an account belongs to who it says before releasing a payout. Talk to Youverify's team about building automated account verification into your payout or onboarding flow.

About the Author

Victoria Okere is a compliance content writer at Youverify, specializing in AML compliance, financial crime risk, regulatory technology, and emerging trends in financial services.