Nigerian banking has gone almost fully digital — mobile onboarding, e-KYC, biometric verification, transfers that clear in seconds. Walk into any bank to open a corporate account, though, and one requirement hasn't budged an inch: a board resolution, signed by the right officers, sealed with the company seal. In a system this digitised, that's worth pausing on. Why has this one piece of physical formality survived everything else going paperless?

Why This One Requirement Refused to Go Away

Corporate account opening in Nigeria runs on Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Know-Your-Customer and Anti-Money-Laundering standards — rules that exist specifically to confirm the people opening and operating an account are genuinely authorised to act for the company, not just claiming to be. A board resolution does that job on paper: it names the approved signatories and confirms the board actually sanctioned the account. Interestingly, since CAMA 2020, having a common seal isn't a strict legal requirement for a company anymore — but individual banks are free to set their own, often stricter, internal policy, and in practice, most still want to see that seal on the resolution. It's a physical layer of authentication they've relied on for decades, and old habits in risk-averse institutions don't disappear just because the law technically relaxed.

What Actually Goes Into the File

Beyond the sealed board resolution, Nigerian banks typically want: the Certificate of Incorporation from CAC, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, CAC forms showing directors and shareholders, a Tax Identification Number, valid ID for every signatory, and a recent utility bill confirming the business address. Since December 2023, a Bank Verification Number has also become mandatory across every account tier, no exceptions. Some banks — particularly when a foreign-owned company is involved — go a step further and ask for the resolution to be notarised on top of everything else.

The Mistake New Business Owners Keep Making

Here's a pattern that plays out constantly: a founder registers with CAC, proudly collects their Certificate of Incorporation, opens a spreadsheet to plan the business — and only realises they never actually got a company seal made the moment the bank asks for one on a sealed resolution. Now account opening is stalled, not because anything else is wrong, but because of one physical object that takes a day or two to produce properly. It's a completely avoidable delay, and yet it happens to new business owners constantly.

The fix is simple: get your Corporate Pocket Seal made the same week you're finalising CAC paperwork, not after a bank officer asks for one. Walking into the bank with your seal already in hand, engraved cleanly with your exact registered company name, turns account opening into a same-day formality instead of a return trip.

Quick Checklist

  • Board resolution authorising the account and naming signatories — signed, dated, and sealed, since most banks still expect it regardless of what CAMA 2020 technically permits.
  • Full CAC documentation — Certificate of Incorporation, Memorandum and Articles, director/shareholder forms.
  • TIN and BVN for all signatories — both mandatory under current CBN standards, no shortcuts.
  • Get your company seal made early — don't let it become the one thing holding up an otherwise complete application.