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The short answer
For most Nigerians in Australia, keeping one active Nigerian account is worth it: family support, rent, school fees and pension payments are all easier with a naira account at home. The trade-off is upkeep. Banks such as GTBank class an account as dormant after a year without a transaction you start, and accounts need a linked BVN and NIN to stay usable. Close the ones you will not use.
What a naira account at home is still good for
- Receiving rent or other income from Nigerian sources.
- Paying bills, school fees and building costs without sending money internationally each time.
- Receiving pension benefits or refunds that Nigerian institutions pay into local accounts.
- Keeping a banking history in Nigeria, which helps if you return or invest.
- Holding naira you intend to spend in Nigeria, rather than converting it twice.
Your BVN stays with you whether you keep the account or not: it is linked to you, not the account, so closing an account does not cancel it.
The upkeep
Dormancy
Each bank sets its own periods within the CBN's guidelines on dormant accounts, issued on 19 July 2024 according to GTBank's page:
| Bank (own pages) | Inactive | Dormant | Moved to CBN-managed fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| GTBank | No customer-initiated transaction for 6 months | 1 year | After 10 years or more |
| Zenith | Not stated | Current accounts after 6 months; its FAQ says savings accounts do not go dormant | Not stated on the FAQ |
A transaction you start yourself (a transfer out through the app, for example) is what counts. Money sent to you by someone else may not. Set a reminder every few months.
BVN, NIN and phone
A CBN circular reported by BusinessDay requires Tier 2 and Tier 3 accounts to carry both a BVN and a NIN; funded accounts without them were put on post-no-debit-or-credit from March 2024. The Guardian reported in May 2026 that a BVN-linked phone number can be changed only once in a lifetime. Decide which number you will keep long term before you change it.
Charges
The CBN's Guide to Charges (effective 2020) lists dormant account reactivation and account closure as waived. Card maintenance, SMS alerts and other charges continue while the account is open; check your statement for what you are paying.
Keep, close or consolidate
| If | Then |
|---|---|
| You have one main account you use | Keep it active and up to date |
| You have several old accounts with small balances | Move the money and close the extras |
| An account is already dormant | Reactivate it if you need it; close it if not |
| You hold dollars too | Decide whether the dom account is worth keeping separately |
To close an account from Australia, ask the bank whether it accepts a signed closure request by email from your registered address, and how it will pay out the balance. Move money out first; leaving a small balance in an account you think is closed is how unclaimed balances start.
If it has already gone dormant
GTBank's page lists a reactivation form, a utility bill not older than three months and valid ID at a branch for dormant individual accounts. Other banks have similar lists. See reactivating a dormant account from Australia and, for balances already moved to the CBN-managed fund, claiming an unclaimed balance.
A simple upkeep routine from Australia
- Pick one Nigerian account as your main one and close or empty the others.
- Every two or three months, make one transfer you start yourself, even a small one to a family member.
- Check once a year that your BVN and NIN are linked and that the bank holds your current email and Australian address.
- Keep internet and mobile banking working: if a hardware token or SMS code is the only way in, ask the bank for an alternative before you lose access.
- Download statements each June or July for your Australian tax records.
- Tell someone you trust which bank you use, so the account is not forgotten if something happens to you.
If you hold accounts at several banks, rank them by what flows through them. The account your tenant, employer or pension administrator pays into is the one to keep; an account that only holds an old balance is a candidate to empty and close. This takes minutes a year and avoids most of the problems people face from abroad: frozen accounts, missed codes and a branch visit on the next trip home.
The Australian tax side
If you are an Australian tax resident, the ATO says you must declare income earned overseas, including interest from bank deposits. Interest on a Nigerian savings account counts, converted to Australian dollars. Keeping statements makes that easy at tax time; see declaring Nigerian bank interest.
Where Pryme fits
If you would rather consolidate, a Pryme Personal account can be opened from Australia with a naira account number, held by a licensed Nigerian microfinance bank, plus USD, GBP and EUR. Family can pay you, and you can pay them, without a branch visit. If you keep naira for a goal at home, Savings Boxes hold naira in Nigeria, with rates shown in the app. See also multicurrency. Outside Nigeria, Pryme works through regulated partners.
Questions people ask
Should I close my Nigerian bank account when I move abroad?
Keep one you will actually use for family, bills or income in Nigeria, and close the rest. Accounts left untouched become dormant.
Does my BVN stop working if I close my Nigerian account?
No. The BVN is linked to you, not to one account, so it remains usable for other accounts.
How long before a Nigerian account goes dormant?
It depends on the bank. GTBank says one year without a customer-initiated transaction; Zenith says current accounts after six months, and that savings accounts do not go dormant.
Is there a fee to reactivate or close a Nigerian account?
The CBN's Guide to Charges lists both dormant reactivation and account closure as waived.
Sources
- GTBank: Account reactivation · accessed Oct 2026
- GTBank: Guidelines for managing dormant accounts and unclaimed balances · accessed Oct 2026
- Zenith Bank: Customer service FAQs · accessed Oct 2026
- BusinessDay: CBN declares no transactions on accounts without BVN or NIN from March 2024 (1 Dec 2023) · accessed Oct 2026
- CBN: Guide to Charges by Banks and Other Financial Institutions (effective 1 Jan 2020) · accessed Oct 2026
- ATO: Australian resident for tax purposes - foreign and worldwide income (last updated 15 Jun 2026) · 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.