AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
A bank mandate is the board's written instruction telling the bank who may sign and on what rules, such as any one, any two, or one from each class, often with amount bands. When signatories live abroad, the mandate has to work through internet banking roles and tokens as well as on paper, and it should never depend on one person who may be unreachable. Changes go through the bank's mandate form with fresh IDs and, usually, a new board resolution.
Owners abroad tend to set the mandate in a hurry when the account is opened, then live with it for years. A good mandate stops money leaving without the right people agreeing, and still lets the business pay salaries on a Friday when a director in Canada is asleep. This guide covers the choices, how banks handle changes, and the limits that sit on top of the mandate.
What the mandate is and where it comes from
The mandate is set by a board resolution and recorded on the bank's forms with specimen signatures. Banks ask for that resolution when the account is opened; Access Bank's corporate account page and FirstBank's diaspora corporate account FAQ both list a board resolution among the documents. The articles of association decide who can bind the company, so check they do not conflict with what you instruct the bank.
CAMA 2020 helps companies run remotely: section 101 lets an electronic signature satisfy the signing requirement for documents a company must authenticate, and section 102 lets a company execute a deed without a seal, signed by a director and the secretary, by two directors, or by one director in the presence of a witness who attests, as Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie summarise. Whether a particular bank accepts an e-signed resolution is the bank's policy, so ask.
Common signing rules, compared
| Rule | How it works | Risk when signatories are abroad |
|---|---|---|
| Sole signatory | One named person signs everything | Business stops if that person is ill, offline or travelling |
| Any one of several | Any listed signatory can sign alone | Weak control; one compromised login moves money |
| Any two | Two of the listed signatories must approve | Needs two people awake and reachable |
| Class A and class B | One from each class (for example, owner abroad plus manager in Nigeria) | Good balance; plan cover for each class |
| Banded by amount | Lower bands need one signature, higher bands need two | Bands must match how online banking roles are set |
For most owner-abroad companies, a banded class A and class B rule works well: a Nigeria-based manager can pay routine items alone up to a set amount, and anything above needs the owner abroad as well.
A worked example (illustrative figures)
Example only: a Lagos retail company with a manager in Lagos and two owners in the UK sets three bands. Up to ₦500,000 per payment, the manager approves alone. From ₦500,001 to ₦5,000,000, the manager plus either owner. Above ₦5,000,000, both owners. A monthly payroll of ₦3,200,000 therefore needs the manager and one owner, so the owners agree a payroll approval window, say the 25th of each month, to suit both time zones.
Limits that sit on top of the mandate
The mandate is not the only control. Banks put their own transaction limits on internet banking and tokens. FirstBank's FAQ, for instance, gives a FirstDiaspora token daily limit of ₦1 million for individuals and ₦10 million for corporates, raised through an online limit increase indemnity form. If your mandate allows a payment the token limit blocks, the payment still will not go, so align the two.
- Ask which roles the online platform supports: initiator, authoriser, administrator, viewer.
- Separate the person who adds beneficiaries from the people who authorise payments.
- Ask how tokens or authenticator codes are delivered to signatories abroad and how a lost token is replaced remotely.
- Set alerts for every debit to all owners, not only to the signatories.
Changing the mandate from abroad
People leave, fall out or die, and the mandate must follow. Access Bank's account management request form lists mandate and signature changes, with ID required; for diaspora customers it lists a passport plus a visa or notarised permit. Expect to provide a fresh board resolution naming the new signatories and removing the old ones.
- Pass the board resolution; a virtual meeting or written resolution may work if your articles allow it. See virtual board meetings under CAMA.
- Have signatures notarised abroad if the bank asks; see notarising a document abroad for Nigeria.
- Submit the bank's mandate form with IDs and BVNs of new signatories.
- If a signatory is also leaving the board, the company must notify the CAC of the director change within 14 days under section 321 of CAMA.
- Revoke the departing person's online access the same day the change takes effect.
Where Pryme fits
On a Pryme Business Account, the Finance and Chief of Staff agents prepare payments and paperwork, a person approves above a ceiling the business sets, and every action is recorded, which mirrors a banded mandate in software; see Finance agent. Sign-in uses an authenticator app rather than SMS codes, plus a transaction PIN, which suits signatories in other countries; see security. For approval thinking in general, see who should approve payments in a small business.
Questions people ask
What is a bank mandate for a company in Nigeria?
It is the board's instruction to the bank naming who can sign on the account and on what rules, backed by specimen signatures and a board resolution.
Can a director abroad be the only signatory?
Yes, but it is risky: if that person cannot be reached, payments stop. Most companies add a second signatory or a banded rule.
How do I change signatories on a Nigerian company account from abroad?
Pass a board resolution, complete the bank's mandate change form with IDs, and notarise signatures if the bank asks. If a director is leaving, also notify the CAC within 14 days.
Why did my payment fail when the mandate allows it?
Internet banking and token limits apply separately. FirstBank, for example, sets daily token limits that you raise through its limit increase form.
Sources
- Access Bank: Corporate Account · accessed Oct 2026
- Access Bank: Account Management Request Form · accessed Oct 2026
- FirstBank: FAQs · accessed Oct 2026
- Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie: CAMA 2020 highlights of new provisions on governance and management · accessed Oct 2026
- Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (full text, PDF) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.