Moniepoint Personal Account: How to Open It, Charges and USSD Codes in 2026

Opening a Moniepoint personal account costs nothing — no deposit, no monthly fee, no minimum balance — and you can do it from the app in minutes with just your BVN or NIN. What changed in 2026 is everything after you open it: since 1 January, the sender now pays a ₦50 stamp duty on transfers of ₦10,000 and above, and since 19 January, a 7.5% VAT applies to transfer, USSD and card fees on top of that. This is current as of October 2026.

Quick facts

How to open a Moniepoint personal account

1. Download the Moniepoint Personal Banking app from the Play Store or App Store.
2. Sign up with your email address and phone number, then confirm the OTP sent to your phone.
3. Set a transaction PIN and complete a quick face (selfie) verification.
4. Enter your BVN or NIN — this is what moves you off Level 0 and into a usable account (Moniepoint).
5. Your account number and virtual card are ready almost immediately; a physical debit card can be ordered in-app for delivery.

If you're a freelancer getting paid in dollars, you'll still need a Nigerian bank account like this one before you can pull the money home — see how to withdraw Payoneer funds to a Nigerian bank once your Moniepoint account is active.

Moniepoint KYC levels and how much you can move

Moniepoint, like every Nigerian bank, tiers what you can do by how much identity information you've given it. Each level raises your daily debit limit (Moniepoint support):

Check your BVN first if you're not sure of it — see how to check your BVN in Nigeria. If you only have a NIN, that's enough to get started; you can also use it to get a tax ID (TIN) online while you're at it.

Moniepoint USSD codes

Dial these from the phone number registered on your account. Moniepoint charges ₦10 for most USSD actions — transfers, airtime/data, balance checks and PIN changes (Moniepoint USSD):

USSD transfers are capped lower than the app: ₦20,000 per transaction and ₦100,000 a day in total, regardless of your KYC level (Moniepoint USSD FAQ). If USSD isn't working, turn it on first in the app under Settings, since newer accounts have it enabled by default but older ones may not.

What Moniepoint actually charges you in 2026

Opening and keeping the account: free. No card maintenance, no monthly ledger fee, no minimum balance to avoid a penalty.

Transfers: Moniepoint shows the exact fee on the confirmation screen before you send, and it's a small flat amount rather than a percentage. On top of whatever that base fee is, two government charges now apply that didn't exist a year ago:

1. ₦50 stamp duty, charged once per transfer of ₦10,000 or more, and since 1 January 2026 it's deducted from the sender, not the person receiving the money — a reversal of the old rule. It replaces the Electronic Money Transfer Levy. Salary payments and transfers between your own accounts at the same institution are exempt (Nairametrics; Vanguard).
2. 7.5% VAT, effective from 19 January 2026, charged on the fee itself, not on the amount you're sending. Moniepoint's customer notice gave the example of a ₦100 transfer fee attracting ₦7.50 in VAT — so a ₦100 charge becomes ₦107.50 all in. Moniepoint collects this and remits it to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS); it isn't a price rise Moniepoint chose itself (Prime Business Africa). If you're curious who actually collects and tracks this, see how the Nigeria Revenue Service's Rev360 portal works. Both changes trace back to the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 — read our breakdown of what changed under Nigeria's new tax laws for the fuller picture.

Say Chidinma, a graphic designer in Lagos, sends ₦15,000 to a client's GTBank account from her Moniepoint app. Because it's above ₦10,000, she now pays the usual transfer fee, plus a ₦50 stamp duty, plus 7.5% VAT on that fee — all shown before she confirms. A year ago, none of that stamp duty or VAT applied.

What to watch out for

• The fee you see isn't always the fee you expect. Since January 2026, a transfer that used to cost a flat fee now carries two extra line items. Read the confirmation screen before you tap send.
• USSD and the app have different limits. Even with full KYC Level 3, a USSD transfer is still capped at ₦20,000, so for anything bigger, use the app.
• Don't skip KYC Level 3 if you plan to move real money. Level 1 caps you at ₦300,000 a day — fine for small transfers, tight if you're running a side hustle or getting paid for freelance work.
• Card and USSD fees now carry VAT too, not just transfers — so card issuance and balance checks cost marginally more than they did in 2025.

Frequently asked questions

Is Moniepoint a real bank, or just an app?

It's licensed as Moniepoint Microfinance Bank, supervised by the Central Bank of Nigeria, and deposits are insured by the NDIC — the same protection you'd get at a commercial bank, up to the NDIC's coverage limit.

How much does it cost to open a Moniepoint personal account?

Nothing. There's no opening deposit and no minimum balance requirement, and the app itself is free to download and use.

What is the Moniepoint USSD code?

*5573# is the main code. Check your balance with *5573*5#, send to another Moniepoint account with *5573*1*Amount*AccountNumber#, or send to any other Nigerian bank with *5573*2*Amount*AccountNumber#.

Why does my Moniepoint transfer show extra charges now?

Since January 2026, two government-mandated charges apply on top of Moniepoint's own fee: a ₦50 stamp duty on transfers of ₦10,000 or more (now paid by the sender), and 7.5% VAT on the transfer fee itself. Neither is money Moniepoint keeps — both are remitted to the Nigeria Revenue Service.

What's the daily transfer limit on Moniepoint?

It depends on your KYC level: ₦300,000 a day at Level 1 (BVN or NIN only), ₦500,000 at Level 2, and ₦5,000,000 at Level 3 (full verification, including proof of address). USSD transfers are capped at ₦100,000 a day regardless of your level.

Does Moniepoint pay interest on savings?

Yes. Its personal savings page lists a flexible plan at 9.5% a year, a target savings plan at 11.5%, and fixed deposits up to 17.5%, though rates like these move with the Central Bank's monetary policy rate, so check the current figure in the app before you lock money away.