Top 5 Best Banks To Open Domiciliary Account in Nigeria (2024)

Domiciliary accounts allows people to do international transactions swiftly. This type of bank account is best for individuals who engage in a lot of transportation using foreign currencies like Pounds, Dollars, Euros, Yen, Dira, and other non-indigenous bucks. With the domilciliary account being the most preferred by a lot of international business dealers in the country, many are inqisitive on which banks give the best options on this account.

If you are oblivious of what a domilciliary account is, then you should know what it involves and the benefits of using it for international dealings. A dom account is a type of bank account which allows users to carry out foreign transactions from the local country. This account allows you to send and receive money in different currencies like Pounds, Euro, Dollar, Yen, etc. Domiciliary account is independent of the location, as you can open the account in Nigeria and use it anywhere in the country and even outside the country’s borders. A lot of international businesses are optioning in for domiciliary accounts, because it makes them to do their transactions within and outside the country.

A Domiciliary account varies from other types of bank accounts in a way that it is only for transacting business, rather than doing savings. The account helps you to carry out your business transactions using foreign currencies. Another discerning characteristic of a domilciliary account is that it allows users to fund the account with foreign currencies and subsequently enables them to do foreign transactions on the account. Consequently, you can use a domiciliary account to transfer money to another country or receive foreign currency from an international account.

A domiciliary account doesn’t only allow you to do foreign transactions, but rather it gives you additional benefits like: debit cards, internet banking, and mobile banking. Nonetheless, this type of bank account is not suitable for income earners, as it’s only used for international transactions. In response to this, we will outline the top five banks to open a domiciliary account in Nigeria. The features and intriguing benefits of using this type of account will also be highlighted in this write-up.

TOP 5 BANKS TO OPEN A DOMICILIARY ACCOUNT WITH IN NIGERIA

Almost all banks in Nigeria gives options of domiciliary accounts opening. But among them, there are top ones that stand out top in the list. They are rated high because of the services and benefits they give their domilciliary account users. Below is the rundown of the best banks to open a domiciliary account in the country.

1. ZENITH BANK

Zenith bank is ostensibly the leading banks in Nigeria with respect good customer service and products. Just a penny (i.e zero balance) could get you a domilciliary account with the bank. Zenith bank operates two kinds of domiciliary account Ordinary domiciliary account and Cash domiciliary account. Contrasting the two accounts, you can make transfers with an Ordinary domiciliary account, while transfers are not allowed for Cash domiciliary account. A Cash domiciliary account have an edge over the other because of access to EazyMoney as an available service.

FEATURES OF ZENITH BANK DOMICILIARY ACCOUNT

• A Zenith Domiciliary Account operates only these foreign currencies: USD, GBP and EUR
• Zero opening balance
• Internet banking and mobile banking services
• Issuance of debit card (USD)
• Email/SMS alerts on transactions

REQUIREMENTS FOR OPENING A ZENITH BANK DOMICILIARY ACCOUNT

• An account opening form
• One passport photograph of authorized signatories
• Valid means of identification (Driver’s License, International Passport, National Identity Card or Voter’s Identity Card)
• Public Utility Receipt (PHCN bill, water rate bill, tenement rate, rent receipt, telephone bill, etc.) dated not more than the last three months
• Visitation Report (Residence)

2. GUARANTY TRUST BANK

Guaranty Trust Bank, GTB is another top bank in Nigeria to option in for their domilciliary account.  GTB domiciliary account is limited only to US Dollars, British Pounds and Euros currencies. Their Domiciliary Account can be funded through cash inflows and cash deposits. However, let’s peek at the benefits of GTB domiciliary  account below.

FEATURES OF GTB DOMICILIARY ACCOUNT

• Available for transactions in US Dollars, British Pounds and Euros currencies
• 24/7 banking services through the various e-channels
• Funds can be transferred in foreign currency to other bank domiciliary accounts
• Users can do cash withdrawals in foreign currency from any GTBank branch.

REQUIREMENTS FOR OPENING A GTB DOMICILIARY ACCOUNT

• A completes account opening form.
• A valid means of identification (Driver’s License, International passport, National I.D Card, or any other ID acceptable by the bank).
• A utility bill dated within the last 3 months
• One recent passport photograph.
• In addition to all of these requirements, two completed reference forms will also be required.

3. FIRST BANK

This is the bank that has the widest coverage in the country. This is credited to it being one of the first bank in Nigeria. First Bank offer domiciliary accounts to enable their customers facilitate international transactions. Advantages of their domilciliary accounts is that they can be accessed via cash deposits, foreign currency cheque deposits or traveler’s cheque.

First bank has two kinds of domiciliary account; FirstDom Plus and Domiciliary account. FirstDom Plus is a foreign currency deposit account that is for users with balances of $5,000 and above. Its interest rate is quite attractive and there is reduced bank charges. In the other way, First Bank domiciliary account is an account that allows users to keep money in US Dollars, Pounds Sterling or Euros. This account is limited only to SMEs and Corporate organizations.

FEATURES OF FIRST BANK DOMICILIARY ACCOUNT

• $500, €500 or £300 is the minimum opening balance
• Minimum operating balance of $100, €100, or £50
• No maximum amount of withdrawals in a month, and also, the cash withdrawal is at 0.5% flat per transaction
• A Guaranteed FCY deposit
• There are no restrictions on the number of withdrawals
• A pool for interest on bank fund

REQUIREMENTS FOR OPENING A FIRST BANK DOMICILIARY ACCOUNT

• A filled account Opening Form
• You should complete the specimen signature card
• Two (2) recent passport photographs
• Utility Bill
• A valid ID: International passport, Driver’s license or National ID card.

4. UNITED BANK OF AFRICA

The United Bank For Africa, UBA is one of the best banks to open a domiciliary account in the country. The bank gives you a wide range of options to choose from when opening. UBA has the Dom Advantage Account, Dom Advantage Plus Account, Freedom Dom account and U-Care Plus Domiciliary Account as the types of it domilciliary accounts. Below are characteristics of their domilciliary accounts.

FEATURES OF UBA DOMILCILIARY ACCOUNT

• UBA Domilciliary Account operates in major foreign currencies like US Dollar, Pound Sterling, Euro, etc.
• Internet banking
• Email and SMS transaction alerts and bank account statements
• Interest rate which depends on the account balance
• Zero transfer charge, and also has zero withdrawal charge
• UBA Domilciliary Account also has unlimited number of withdrawals

REQUIREMENTS FOR OPENING A UBA DOMILCILIARY ACCOUNT

• A minimum Opening and Operating Balance of $1,000, €700 or ₤600
• There is a compulsory swift communication charge of $25, €20 or ₤15 on all foreign transfers
• And other necessary documents required for opening an account with the bank.

5. FIDELITY BANK

Fidelity bank is one of the few banks in the country which offers good services for domilciliary account users. Their domilciliary account operates in these foreign currencies: US Dollars, British Pounds and Euros. The options and services Fidelity Bank gives their customers using this type of account has made a lot of people rate the bank on this. Below are few of the features and benefits of using their domilciliary account.

FEATURES OF FIDELITY DOMICILIARY ACCOUNT

• Minimum account opening balance of $50, €50 and £50, and a minimum operating balance of $30, €30 and £20
• Fidelity Bank gives interest rates on call/demand and fixed deposits
• Internet banking, email/SMS transaction alerts and statements
• Standing orders
• Investment facilitation services for shares traded on NSE
• Option to open a domiciliary and a current account concurrently

REQUIREMENTS FOR OPENING A FIDELITY DOMICILIARY ACCOUNT

• Account Opening Form
• One recent passport sized photograph
• A valid means of identification (Nigerian passport, valid driver’s license, valid national ID card or voters card, Valid foreign passport/driver’s license, complementing with  birth certificate and expired/valid Nigerian Passport)
• Proof of address
• Utility bill issued within the last 3 months
• Bank or credit card statement issued within the last three months

That’s it on the best five banks in the country in which you can open a domilciliary account. We hope you now have a choice!

CONCLUSION

Domilciliary Account is the best option if peradventure you are running international transactions. This type of bank account betters other accounts in a way that it allows doing the transaction by using foreign currencies. That’s the size of this article, as we’ve been able to outline and highlight the top five banks to open a domiciliary account in Nigeria. We believe you now have a choice for your international bank dealings.