Banks API

Get bank information and verify account details.

Available Commands

Command	Description
bank:list	List available banks
bank:resolve	Resolve and verify account number

List Banks

Get all available banks for a country.

paystack-cli bank:list --country=nigeria

Parameters

• --country - Country name (nigeria, ghana, south africa) (required)

Optional Parameters

• --use_cursor - Use cursor for pagination (true/false)
• --perPage - Records per page
• --pay_with_bank_transfer - Filter banks supporting bank transfers
• --pay_with_bank - Filter banks supporting direct debit
• --enabled_for_verification - Filter banks supporting verification

Examples

# List Nigerian banks
paystack-cli bank:list --country=nigeria

# List Ghanaian banks
paystack-cli bank:list --country=ghana

# List South African banks
paystack-cli bank:list --country="south africa"

# Filter banks supporting bank transfers
paystack-cli bank:list \
  --country=nigeria \
  --pay_with_bank_transfer=true

# Export to JSON
paystack-cli bank:list --country=nigeria --json > banks.json

Response

{
  "status": true,
  "message": "Banks retrieved",
  "data": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "Access Bank",
      "slug": "access-bank",
      "code": "044",
      "active": true,
      "country": "Nigeria",
      "currency": "NGN",
      "type": "nuban"
    }
    // ... more banks
  ]
}

Resolve Account

Verify account number and get account name.

paystack-cli bank:resolve \
  --account_number=0123456789 \
  --bank_code=033

Parameters

• --account_number - Bank account number (required)
• --bank_code - Bank code (required)

Examples

# Resolve Nigerian account
paystack-cli bank:resolve \
  --account_number=0123456789 \
  --bank_code=033

# Resolve before creating recipient
paystack-cli bank:resolve \
  --account_number=0123456789 \
  --bank_code=033 \
  && paystack-cli transferrecipient:create \
     --type=nuban \
     --name="Returned Account Name" \
     --account_number=0123456789 \
     --bank_code=033

Response

{
  "status": true,
  "message": "Account number resolved",
  "data": {
    "account_number": "0123456789",
    "account_name": "JOHN DOE",
    "bank_id": 9
  }
}

Note: Always verify the account name matches your intended recipient before creating a transfer recipient or initiating a transfer.

Common Workflows

Verify Before Transfer

# 1. List banks to get code
paystack-cli bank:list --country=nigeria | grep "Access Bank"

# 2. Resolve account
paystack-cli bank:resolve \
  --account_number=0123456789 \
  --bank_code=044

# 3. Verify account name matches

# 4. Create recipient
paystack-cli transferrecipient:create \
  --type=nuban \
  --name="JOHN DOE" \
  --account_number=0123456789 \
  --bank_code=044

# 5. Initiate transfer
paystack-cli transfer:initiate \
  --source=balance \
  --amount=50000 \
  --recipient=RCP_xxx

Find Bank Code

# Search for specific bank
paystack-cli bank:list --country=nigeria --json | \
  jq '.data[] | select(.name | contains("Access"))'

# Get just bank codes and names
paystack-cli bank:list --country=nigeria --json | \
  jq '.data[] | {name: .name, code: .code}'

Bank Codes (Common)

Nigeria

Bank	Code
Access Bank	044
GTBank	058
UBA	033
Zenith Bank	057
First Bank	011
Fidelity Bank	070
Stanbic IBTC	221
Sterling Bank	232
Union Bank	032
Wema Bank	035

Ghana

Provider	Code
MTN Mobile Money	MTN
Vodafone	VOD
AirtelTigo	ATL

Tip: Always use bank:list to get the most current list of supported banks and their codes.

Error Handling

"Could not resolve account name"

Causes:

• Invalid account number
• Incorrect bank code
• Account doesn't exist
• Bank API temporarily unavailable

Solution: Double-check account number and bank code, then try again.

"Account number could not be verified"

Causes:

• Account not eligible for transfers
• Bank doesn't support verification
• Account is inactive

Solution: Contact the account owner to verify details or use a different account.

Next Steps

• Transfer Recipients API
• Transfers API
• Verifications API