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
Enter the receiver's own home address in Nigeria, written in full with street, town, state and country, in the beneficiary address field, and the receiving bank's head office address in the bank address field. US banks ask for both because wire records must identify the beneficiary, and a blank, foreign or made-up address can get the wire held or sent back.
Two address fields, two different addresses
Most US wire forms have a beneficiary (recipient) address and a beneficiary bank address. People often mix them up, or type their own US address into the recipient box. Bank of America lists the recipient's name, address, SWIFT code and account number as the details it needs for an international wire; PNC, as Wise reported in January 2025, asks for the recipient's complete address and the bank's name and address.
| Field | What goes in it | Example (made up) |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficiary name | Account holder, exactly as the bank holds it | Ngozi Adaeze Okafor |
| Beneficiary address | The account holder's own address in Nigeria | 14 Adeola Street, Surulere, Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria |
| Beneficiary account | 10-digit account number | 0123456789 |
| Bank name | The bank's legal name | Guaranty Trust Bank Plc |
| Bank SWIFT/BIC | The bank's code | GTBINGLA |
| Bank address | The bank's head office, from its SWIFT listing | 635 Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos |
The GTBank head office address above is the one shown in Wise's SWIFT directory for GTBINGLAXXX; for other banks, use the address on the bank's own incoming-transfer sheet or the SWIFT listing for its code. Our list of SWIFT codes for Nigerian banks gives the main ones.
Why US banks insist on the address
Under the US funds-transfer recordkeeping rule, often called the Travel Rule, a bank sending a wire of $3,000 or more must record and pass on information about the payment, including the originator's name and address and details of the beneficiary, according to the FFIEC's anti-money-laundering manual. Intermediary banks pass the information along the chain. An address also helps distinguish two people with the same name.
So the address is not a formality. A missing or nonsense address can stop the wire at your bank, at a US correspondent or at the Nigerian bank. Wise's help page for its own US dollar details, to take a receiving example, says incoming SWIFT payments must include an address or they will be rejected.
How to write a Nigerian address so it gets through
- Use the address the bank has on file for the receiver, where possible. Ask the receiver for the address on their bank statement.
- Write it in full. House number and street, area, town or city, state, and "Nigeria" as the country.
- Do not use a PO box alone if the form asks for a residential address.
- Keep within the character limits. Many forms give two or three short lines; abbreviate "Street" to "St" rather than cutting off the town.
- Pick Nigeria in the country drop-down if there is one, not the country you live in.
- Do not use special characters such as # or & if the form rejects them; write "No. 14" instead of "#14".
If the receiver has no fixed address
Students in hostels, people between homes and relatives in villages without street names still need an address the bank will accept. Use the address the receiver gave their bank when they opened the account. If they cannot find it, they can ask the branch, or print a recent statement, which usually shows it.
When the form splits the address into boxes
Some US forms give separate boxes for street, city, state or province, postcode and country. Put the street and area in the first box, the town in the city box, the state (for example Lagos State or FCT) in the state box, and choose Nigeria as the country. If there is a postcode box and the receiver does not know theirs, leave it blank only if the form allows; do not invent one. The same applies to the bank address: street, town, country, from the bank's own instructions.
Other fields that bounce wires to Nigeria
- Account currency. A US dollar wire needs a domiciliary account number, not the naira one; see wiring dollars to a domiciliary account.
- Name order. Match the bank's record exactly.
- Intermediary bank. If asked, use the Nigerian bank's current US correspondent from its own sheet; Fidelity's 2025 sheet, for example, names Citibank N.A. New York (CITIUS33).
- Purpose. Give a clear reason.
- IBAN. Nigeria does not use them; see IBANs and Nigerian account details.
Worked example of a bounced wire
Example only, with assumed charges. Emeka wires $800 to his cousin and, to save time, types his own Houston address in the beneficiary address box. A correspondent bank holds the payment and asks for the beneficiary's address; by the time the query reaches Emeka the wire has been returned, less $15 in charges. He resends with his cousin's Lagos address and pays a second sending fee. Two minutes spent asking for the right address would have saved both charges and a week.
Where Pryme fits
If you pay the same family members often, a Pryme account lets you hold dollars and pay their Nigerian naira accounts with Send; the app shows the rate and the fee before you approve.
Questions people ask
Whose address goes in the beneficiary address on a wire?
The receiver's, meaning the account holder's own address in Nigeria. The bank's address goes in the separate beneficiary bank field.
Can I use my own US address for the recipient?
No. Use the receiver's Nigerian address. A wrong address can get the wire held or returned.
What address do I use for a Nigerian bank?
Its head office address from its own incoming transfer instructions or its SWIFT listing, for example 635 Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos for GTBank.
Why does my bank need the beneficiary address?
Wire records must identify the beneficiary. For wires of $3,000 or more, US rules require the information to travel with the payment.
Sources
- Bank of America: Wire transfers in Online Banking and the Mobile app · accessed Oct 2026
- Wise blog: PNC international wire transfer, citing PNC Consumer Schedule of Service Charges and Fees (28 Jan 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
- FFIEC BSA/AML Manual: Funds transfers recordkeeping · accessed Oct 2026
- Fidelity Bank Plc: Details for SWIFT transfers 2025 · accessed Oct 2026
- Wise SWIFT directory: GTBINGLAXXX, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc · accessed Oct 2026
- Wise Help: How do I receive money with my USD account details? · 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.