Previously, destinationAccountName was an optional field in the Disbursement API request body. Effective immediately, it is now required for all disbursement requests — both single transfers and bulk transfers.

Any request that does not include a valid destinationAccountName will receive a 400 Bad Request error response.

This applies to the following endpoints:

1. Initiate Single Transfer — POST /api/v2/disbursements/single

1. Regulatory Compliance: CBN guidelines now require name verification as part of the transfer process to reduce fraud and misdirected payments.
2. Reduced Failed Transactions: Providing the account name allows Monnify to perform a name-match check before processing, catching mismatches early.
3. Improved Audit Trails: Having the beneficiary name recorded with every transaction improves transparency and reconciliation.

Add the destinationAccountName field to your disbursement request body. You can retrieve the account name beforehand using the Validate Bank Account endpoint and pass the returned name in your transfer request.

Before (missing field — will now fail)

1{
2            "amount": 5000,
3            "reference": "ref_001",
4            "narration": "Payout to vendor",
5            "destinationBankCode": "058",
6            "destinationAccountNumber": "0123456789",
7            "currency": "NGN",
8            "sourceAccountNumber": "9876543210"
9          }

After (correct — includes destinationAccountName)

1{
2            "amount": 5000,
3            "reference": "ref_001",
4            "narration": "Payout to vendor",
5            "destinationBankCode": "058",
6            "destinationAccountNumber": "0123456789",
7            "destinationAccountName": "Ciroma Chukwuma Adekunle", //now a required field
8            "currency": "NGN",
9            "sourceAccountNumber": "9876543210"
10          }

1. Call the Validate Bank Account endpoint with the beneficiary's bank code and account number.
2. Extract the accountName from the response.
3. Pass this value as destinationAccountName in your disbursement request.
4. Optionally, display the resolved name to the user before they confirm the transfer — this is a good UX practice.

You can test this change in the Monnify Sandbox environment before deploying to production. Use your sandbox API credentials and confirm that:

1. Requests without destinationAccountName return a 400 error.
2. Requests with a valid destinationAccountName proceed successfully.
3. The name-match validation behaves as expected for your use case.

1. Does the name have to be an exact match?
   Monnify performs a fuzzy name-match check. Minor variations (e.g., middle name omissions) are tolerated, but the name must be reasonably close to what the bank returns for that account.
2. What happens if the name doesn't match?
   The transfer will be flagged or rejected depending on the degree of mismatch. Always use the name returned by the Validate Bank Account endpoint to avoid this.
3. Does this affect bulk transfers too?
   No, not at the moment.
4. I currently use v1 of the API, does this change affect me?
   We are currently in the process of deprecating v1, please migrate to v2 before May 1st 2026 to avoid service disruption.
5. Where can I find my existing disbursement request structure?
   Check the full API reference on the Monnify Developer Docs.