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Paycrest follows international standards for currency and institution codes to ensure consistency and compatibility across different systems and regions.

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Currency Codes

Paycrest uses ISO 4217 standard currency codes, which are the internationally recognized three-letter codes for currencies.

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Examples:

  • NGN - Nigerian Naira
  • KES - Kenyan Shilling
  • UGX - Ugandan Shilling
  • TZS - Tanzanian Shilling
  • MWK - Malawi Kwacha
  • BRL - Brazilian Real
All currency codes used in Paycrest API calls must follow the ISO 4217 standard. These codes are case-sensitive and should be provided in uppercase.

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Institution Codes

Paycrest uses a hybrid approach for institution codes to accommodate both international banks and local financial institutions.

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SWIFT Codes (International Banks)

For major international banks and domestic banks with SWIFT codes, Paycrest uses the first 7 characters of the SWIFT/BIC code.

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Examples:

  • GTBINGLA - Guaranty Trust Bank (Nigeria)
  • FBNINGLA - First Bank of Nigeria
  • CITINGLA - Citibank Nigeria
  • SCBLNGLA - Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria
  • KCBLKENX - Kenya Commercial Bank
  • EQBLKENA - Equity Bank Kenya

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Custom Codes (Local Institutions)

For mobile payment providers, local banks without SWIFT codes, and other financial institutions, Paycrest uses custom codes that follow a SWIFT-like format ending with “PC” (PayCrest).

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Examples:

  • KUDANGPC - Kuda Bank (Nigeria)
  • OPAYNGPC - OPay (Nigeria)
  • MONINGPC - Moniepoint (Nigeria)
  • SAFAKEPC - Safaricom M-Pesa (Kenya)
  • AIRTKEPC - Airtel Money (Kenya)

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Code Format Rules

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Currency Codes

  • Format: 3 uppercase letters
  • Standard: ISO 4217
  • Case: Always uppercase
  • Examples: NGN, KES, UGX

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Institution Codes

  • Format: 8 characters
  • International Banks: First 7 characters of SWIFT code
  • Local Institutions: Custom code ending with “PC”
  • Case: Always uppercase
  • Examples: GTBINGLA, KUDANGPC

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API Usage

When making API calls, always use the correct code format. For new integrations, use POST /v2/sender/orders (offramp: stablecoin → fiat). Fiat currency is destination.currency; the bank or mobile-money institution is destination.recipient.institution. Crypto asset and chain are on source (source.currency, source.network). 
// v2 offramp — correct institution and currency codes (see OpenAPI for full required fields)
const order = {
  amount: "100",
  source: {
    type: "crypto",
    currency: "USDT",
    network: "base",
    refundAddress: "0xYourRefundAddress",
  },
  destination: {
    type: "fiat",
    currency: "NGN", // ISO 4217 — correct fiat currency code
    recipient: {
      institution: "GTBINGLA", // Correct institution code
      accountIdentifier: "1234567890",
      accountName: "John Doe",
      memo: "Payment",
    },
  },
};
Legacy v1 POST /sender/orders (https://api.paycrest.io/v1/...) uses a flatter body (amount, token, network, recipient) with the same uppercase institution and currency strings; prefer v2 for new work.

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Finding Institution Codes

Use the GET /institutions/ endpoint to get the complete list of supported institutions for any currency: 
curl -X GET "https://api.paycrest.io/v2/institutions/NGN" \
  -H "API-Key: your-api-key"
This endpoint returns all supported institutions with their codes, names, and types (bank or mobile_money).
Institution codes are case-sensitive and must be provided exactly as returned by the API. Always use the official codes from the API rather than guessing or using external SWIFT code databases.