Identity
Instantly confirm your customers' identities during registration. When a new user signs up, use the Resolve BVN or Resolve NIN endpoints to fetch their official name and date of birth. This allows you to pre-fill registration forms and reduce fraud by verifying their identity.
Stop asking customers to manually enter their details. With BVN and NIN resolution, you can instantly verify their identity, pre-fill forms with official data, and reduce fraud. It's like having a direct line to official identity databases—fast, accurate, and secure.
Resolve BVN
This endpoint resolves a Bank Verification Number (BVN) to retrieve associated user information.
Instant identity verification
A BVN is a unique 11-digit number that links all of a person's bank accounts in Nigeria. When a customer provides their BVN, you can instantly retrieve their official name, date of birth, gender, and even their photo—all verified by the banking system.
Common use cases
- Registration form pre-filling: When a user enters their BVN, automatically populate their name, date of birth, and other details—no typing required.
- Identity verification: Verify that the person registering is who they claim to be by matching provided information with BVN data.
- KYC compliance: Meet Know Your Customer requirements by verifying customer identity using official banking data.
- Fraud prevention: Detect identity fraud by comparing user-provided information with official BVN records.
- Account linking: Link multiple bank accounts to a single customer identity using their BVN.
- Age verification: Verify customer age using date of birth from BVN for age-restricted services.
- Photo verification: Use the BVN photo to visually verify customer identity during onboarding.
Why use BVN resolution?
- Accuracy: Get official data directly from the banking system, not user input.
- Speed: Instant verification—no waiting for manual document review.
- Security: Reduce fraud by verifying identity against official records.
- User experience: Pre-fill forms automatically, making registration faster and easier.
Query Parameters
- Name
bvn- Type
- string
- Description
The Bank Verification Number to resolve. Must be exactly 11 digits.
The bvn query parameter is required and must be an 11-digit string. An invalid bvn (e.g., incorrect length, non-numeric characters) will result in an error response.
Request
curl "https://api.aellaapp.com/identity/bvn/resolve?bvn=22122212221" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer {token}"
Response
{
"success": true,
"message": "Request successful",
"data": {
"firstName": "John",
"lastName": "Doe",
"middleName": "JD",
"gender": "Male",
"dateOfBirth": "07-01-2001",
"photo": "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQEBLAEsAAD/4QBvRXhpZgAASUkqAAgAAAA..."
},
"status": 200
}
Resolve NIN
This endpoint resolves a National Identification Number (NIN) to retrieve associated user information.
Official identity from the source
The NIN is Nigeria's official national identification number, issued by NIMC (National Identity Management Commission). It's the most authoritative source of identity information in Nigeria. When a customer provides their NIN, you get their verified identity data directly from the national database.
Common use cases
- National ID verification: Verify customer identity using Nigeria's official identification system.
- Registration automation: Pre-fill registration forms with official name, date of birth, and other NIN data.
- Government compliance: Meet regulatory requirements for identity verification using official NIN data.
- High-security applications: Use NIN for identity verification in financial services, telecom, or other regulated industries.
- Age verification: Verify customer age for age-restricted services using official date of birth.
- Fraud prevention: Cross-reference user-provided information with official NIN records to detect fraud.
- Photo verification: Use the NIN photo to visually verify customer identity.
BVN vs NIN: Which to use?
- BVN: Best for banking and financial services. Links to bank accounts and is widely used in the financial sector.
- NIN: Best for official government verification and high-security applications. The most authoritative national identity document.
Query Parameters
- Name
nin- Type
- string
- Description
The National Identification Number to resolve.
Request
curl "https://api.aellaapp.com/identity/nin/resolve?nin=22122212221" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer {token}"
Response
{
"success": true,
"message": "Request successful",
"data": {
"firstName": "John",
"lastName": "Doe",
"middleName": "JD",
"gender": "Male",
"dateOfBirth": "07-01-2001",
"photo": "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQEBLAEsAAD/4QBvRXhpZgAASUkqAAgAAAA..."
},
"status": 200
}