How Much Does It Cost to Open a Bank Account in Nigeria (+ Hidden Fees)

What does it cost to open a Naira bank account in Nigeria?

In a 2026 research, the Liners team sought out to find the answer to this.

Liners’ researchers opened over 100 accounts across 18 traditional banks and 5 digital banks in Nigeria, and logged every fee that came up, and every one that didn’t.

Here’s what it really costs, and where the surprises tend to show up, straight from our findings in the account opening study.

tldr

Budget ₦0 to open a digital account, and ₦0 to ₦10,000 for a branch visit depending on the bank.

Add ₦1,000 to ₦1,500 if you want a physical debit card, and don’t expect anyone to mention maintenance or SMS fees unless you ask, 91 of 100 branches never did.

What Opening A Naira Account Costs in Nigeria

Opening a Naira bank account online is mostly free. All 31 digital bank opens in the Liners study across OPay, PalmPay, Moniepoint, Kuda and ALAT by Wema, required ₦0 to start.

In branch, 87 of 100 visits also required no deposit.

The main exception was Access Bank, which asked for ₦1,000 to ₦3,000 at every single visit our researchers logged. The single highest deposit in the study came from FCMB’s Mosan Ipaja branch, at ₦10,000, well above what any other bank asked for.

What a Debit Card Costs, When Anyone Tells You

Only 17 of 100 branch visits ended with a debit card offered or issued, and only four banks gave researchers a specific fee:

• Wema (₦1,000)
• First Bank (₦1,025 to ₦1,500)
• Keystone (₦1,075)
• Zenith (₦1,250)

If your branch does issue a card and does charge for it, expect somewhere in that range.

Digital banks mostly sidestep this cost. 19 of the 31 online opens came with a free virtual card the same session, usable immediately for online payments even before a physical card exists.

The Fees That Rarely Come Up: Maintenance, SMS and Stamp Duty

91 of 100 branch visits ended with no mention of a monthly maintenance fee, an SMS alert fee, or stamp duty. Only 9 of 100 branches brought any of it up without being asked.

These charges are not optional extras a bank might apply. They’re standard in Nigerian bank statements, they just don’t tend to come up during the sign-up conversation - unless you ask directly.

A Simple Budget for Opening Your Next Naira Account

Here’s what to set aside, based on what Liners’ researchers were charged and told across over 100 account openings:

• Opening deposit: ₦0 for any digital bank, and ₦0 for most branches. Budget up to ₦3,000 if you’re going to Access Bank, and know that outliers as high as ₦10,000 exist.
• Debit card: ₦0 for a digital bank’s virtual card. ₦1,000 to ₦1,500 if a branch issues a physical card and charges for it.
• Monthly maintenance and SMS fees: Unknown until you ask. Don’t assume ₦0 just because nobody mentioned it.
• Total to walk out the door: Usually ₦0, worst case a few thousand naira if you’re at a bank that charges for both the deposit and the card.