Bank Transfers

Use the Payouts API to send funds to recipient bank accounts. Set paymentMethodId to "banktransfer" and provide a recipient object with type: "bank_account".

Request Shape

Set paymentMethodId to "banktransfer" and provide recipient with the following structure:

Top-level required fields for every payout:

• Required: merchantId, merchantReference, destinationValue (with minorAmount and currency), paymentMethodId ("banktransfer"), paymentLocation, recipient
• Optional: sender, attributes

Example Request

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{
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  "merchantId": "your-merchant-id",
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  "merchantReference": "PAYOUT-2024-001",
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  "destinationValue": {
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    "minorAmount": 1000000,
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    "currency": "NGN"
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  },
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  "paymentMethodId": "banktransfer",
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  "paymentLocation": "NGA",
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  "recipient": {
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    "type": "bank_account",
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    "accountNumber": "0123456789",
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    "bankCode": "044",
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    "accountHolderName": "John Doe",
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    "country": "NGA"
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  },
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  "attributes": {}
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}

Note: minorAmount: 1000000 = 10,000.00 NGN (multiply major units by 100 to get minor units).

Required vs Optional Summary

• Required for recipient (bank_account): type ("bank_account"), accountNumber, bankCode, accountHolderName, country
• Optional for recipient: phoneNumber
• Required at request level: merchantId, merchantReference, destinationValue, paymentMethodId, paymentLocation, recipient
• Optional at request level: sender (required for some destinations), attributes

The API reference is the source of truth for the schema.

Format and Validation Notes

• Nigeria (NGN): Account numbers are typically 10 digits. bankCode is the bank identifier code (e.g., sort code).
• South Africa (ZAR): Use a supported bank code string (e.g. absa, standard_bank, fnb). See South Africa for the full list of valid bankCode values.
• Egypt (EGP): Account number format as required by the local rail; IBAN is supported and required for some banks (e.g. USD transfers). bankCode is required. Valid bank codes include BDC, CIB, POST; see Egypt for details. The sender object is required for Egypt payouts—see Egypt and the API reference.
• Other currencies: Use the account number and bank code formats accepted by the local clearing system. The bankCode field is required for all bank transfers.

Amount Format: Amounts are specified in minor units (integer). For example, minorAmount: 1000000 = 10,000.00 NGN. See Single Payouts for details.

Where Bank Transfers Are Supported

Not every currency supports bank payouts. See Supported Destinations for a table of currencies, countries, and supported rails (bank vs mobile wallet).

Next Steps

• Single Payouts — Create one-off bank payouts
• Bulk Payouts — Send multiple payouts in one request
• Supported Destinations — Currencies and rails by destination
• Sandbox Testing — Test scenarios using account number suffixes (Nigeria, Egypt)