Nigerian conventions

Financial terminology

Consistent, user-tested language for money movements, accounts, charges and identity checks across Nigerian financial products.

Charges#

Call them fees in interfaces; "charges" is acceptable in statements.
State fees before confirmation, in naira, beside the amount: see Currency.
Name the fee by cause: "transfer fee", "SMS alert fee", "card maintenance fee" — never "miscellaneous charges".

Spell out Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN) on first use per flow.
Explain why at the point of asking, and what you can't see: "Your BVN lets us confirm your identity. It doesn't give us access to your other accounts."
Use "verify your identity", not "complete your KYC" — KYC is the bank's task, identity is the user's.
Account tiers: name the benefit, not the regulation. "Upgrade to send up to ₦5,000,000 a day", not "Upgrade to Tier 3".

State interest as both rate and naira where possible: "12% per year — about ₦1,000 monthly on this balance".
For loans, always show total repayment alongside instalments. "₦10,000 monthly for 6 months (₦60,000 total)".
Never euphemise penalties. "Late fee: ₦500 per week" beats "service adjustment".

You'll get ₦10,000 now and pay back ₦11,500 in 30 days.

Don't

Loan disbursement of ₦10,000 attracts a 15% facility fee payable at tenor end.

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