Tips on opening a Domicilliary Account in Nigeria

A domicilliary account is a bank account that is held in a foreign currency. This means that the account is operated in a currency different from the local currency. In Nigeria, having a domicilliary account means that your account will be domiciled in currencies other than the Naira and in this case, the Euro(€), British Pounds(£) or the US dollars($) are more commonly used.

There are several reasons why you may need to open a domicilliary account in Nigeria such as for business or personal reasons but for whatever reason you may need, here are the basic things you will need:

Things you will need to open a domicilliary account
1. 1 or 2 referees with Current account for at least 6 months with the bank or any other bank. Usually it is better and faster to get referees from the same bank so that confirmation will take place as early as possible.
2. Utility Bills like PHCN bill etc
3. Valid id such as National ID card, International Passport, Driver's License for identification.
4. At least $150 as minimum opening balance.

Tips to easily open an account
- Try to download a copy of the application form from your bank's website and pre-fill it with the necessary details before going to the bank to make an application as it will make it faster for you.
- Use referees from same bank
- Go with copies of documents

Things you can do with a domicilliary account
- Receive money directly from abroad
- Cash foreign cheques
- Send money easily abroad
- Use it with a Credit card
- Earn interest on foreign currency funds

Types of Domicilliary accounts
- Savings: Just for saving, receiving and can do with little funds and low charges
- Current: Can do more than savings and carries higher charges and larger funds

Who can open a domicilliary Account?
- Individuals
- Companies