Bank Account: Country Requirements

Every country uses the same endpoint (POST /verify/account) and the same response shape; only the inputs differ. This page lists what each country expects: account and bank-code formats, extra required fields, and anything country-specific in the response. For the request/response flow itself, see the Bank Account guide.

Nigeria

10-digit NUBAN account number plus the bank's 6-digit code. The response includes the account holder's name, and may include address.state and address.lga depending on the bank.

{
  "accountNumber": "0123456789",
  "country": "NG",
  "bankCode": "000014"
}

Nigeria covers 400+ financial institutions. Fetch the current list at runtime:

curl https://api.lira.com/api/v1/client/countries/NG/banks \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"

Sandbox: account 0000000001 with bank code 000014 returns a predictable success.

Ghana

Standard account number plus the bank's sort/routing code (e.g. GH010100).

{
  "accountNumber": "1234567890",
  "country": "GH",
  "bankCode": "GH010100"
}

Kenya

Standard bank account verification is not supported for Kenya. Use the M-Pesa endpoints instead:

See Mobile Money for the full guide.

Zambia

Standard account number plus the bank's 3-digit code. Returns accountName, bankCode, and bankName, with no address fields.

{
  "accountNumber": "1234567890",
  "country": "ZM",
  "bankCode": "023"
}

Tanzania

Standard account number plus the institution's 3-digit code. Tanzania routes through the national interoperability hub covering 16 banks and 5 mobile-money operators.

{
  "accountNumber": "2000000001",
  "country": "TZ",
  "bankCode": "003"
}

The response may include an identity object when the hub has it: typically a TIN for personal accounts, TIN or NIN for business accounts. Some business accounts omit this field.

Ethiopia

Standard account number plus the institution's 6-digit code. Ethiopia routes through the national interoperability hub covering 43 financial institutions (banks, microfinance institutions, and mobile wallets).

{
  "accountNumber": "1000000000001",
  "country": "ET",
  "bankCode": "231402"
}

Ethiopia uses corridor-specific error codes: INVALID_ACCOUNT (account not found at the bank) and UNKNOWN_BANK (bankCode not in the supported list), in place of the generic ACCOUNT_NOT_FOUND / INVALID_BANK_CODE.

Sandbox:

United Kingdom

The UK is a name-match corridor: you supply the 8-digit account number, the 6-digit sort code (digits only, no dashes), and the name you expect on the account. The bank confirms whether the account exists and whether the name matches. It never discloses the registered name.

{
  "country": "GB",
  "accountNumber": "12345678",
  "bankCode": "200000",
  "accountName": "Jane Doe"
}

• verified: true: the name matched. The accountName in the response is the name you submitted, confirmed against the bank's record.
• verified: false: the account was not found or the name did not match. accountName is omitted.

China

China is also a name-match corridor and supports two account types via accountHolderType:

• INDIVIDUAL: a UnionPay card number (16–19 digits, starting with 62)
• BUSINESS: a corporate account; the identifiers array must include a BUSINESS_REGISTRATION entry carrying the company's 18-character Uniform Credit Code

bankCode is the bank's BIC/SWIFT code (8 or 11 characters).

{
  "country": "CN",
  "accountHolderType": "INDIVIDUAL",
  "accountNumber": "6228480402564890018",
  "bankCode": "ABOCCNBJ",
  "accountName": "王明"
}

{
  "country": "CN",
  "accountHolderType": "BUSINESS",
  "accountNumber": "321872160000",
  "bankCode": "ABOCCNBJ",
  "accountName": "Beijing Apple and Orange Company",
  "identifiers": [
    { "type": "BUSINESS_REGISTRATION", "value": "91111111ABCXYZ123" }
  ]
}

Missing required fields (accountHolderType, or the BUSINESS_REGISTRATION identifier on a business account) return VALIDATION_ERROR.

Next steps