Your first NIN check, in minutes.

Create a business account. Confirm your email, name your business and set up an authenticator app. The sandbox opens straight away. In the console, open Developers and create a test key. It starts with vk_test_ and is shown once, so store it as a secret.

Test keys only ever reach sandbox identities: no real data, no charge.

Send the key as a bearer token. Every check needs a purpose: KYC-ONB (account opening), KYC-REV (periodic review), LEND (credit decision) or EMPL (employment screening). Add names and a date of birth to get a match result for each. customer_ref is your own ID for the person, and an Idempotency-Key makes retries safe: a repeat within 24 hours returns the same check and isn’t charged again.

curl -X POST https://api.verath.io/v1/kyc/nin/basic \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VERATH_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: onb_cust_1042" \
  -d '{"nin":"70000000006","first_name":"Ngozi","last_name":"Lagbaja","dob":"1994-05-14","purpose":"KYC-ONB","customer_ref":"cust_1042"}'

Verath is match-first: you get whether the details you sent match the official record, not the record itself. Businesses approved for records also get the record fields once, in data, when the source’s contract allows it (data_policy: "records").

{
  "reference_id": "chk_3c5e1f0a9b2d4c7e8f6a1b2c3d4e5f60",
  "object": "check",
  "check": "nin_basic",
  "status": "completed",
  "found": true,
  "source": "registry",
  "source_ref": "sbx_8f29a712c4e01b5d",
  "id_number": { "type": "nin", "last_digits": "0006" },
  "match": { "first_name": 100, "last_name": 100, "dob": 100 },
  "match_result": { "first_name": "match", "last_name": "match", "dob": "match" },
  "route": [{ "source": "registry", "outcome": "found", "latency_ms": 412, "ref": "sbx_8f29a712c4e01b5d" }],
  "latency_ms": 431,
  "error": null,
  "cost": { "billed": false, "amount_kobo": 0, "currency": "NGN" },
  "customer": { "id": "cus_9a7b…", "customer_ref": "cust_1042" },
  "purpose": "KYC-ONB",
  "consent_ref": null,
  "mode": "test",
  "created_at": "2026-11-11T15:32:00.112Z",
  "completed_at": "2026-11-11T15:32:00.543Z",
  "retry": null,
  "data": null,
  "data_policy": "match_only"
}

Every check also appears in the console under Customers, with a PDF certificate you can file. See Reading a check in the Verath Console. For the console's home page, see The Verath Console home page.

These fictional identities work with test keys. Any other number is “not found”.

Test person: Ngozi Lagbaja. Use her details anywhere your app asks for them. She’s fictional: the email can’t receive mail and the phone number is for the sandbox only.

To see failover, send X-Simulate-Outage: registry (the first source fails, the next answers) or X-Simulate-Outage: all (nothing answers: the check goes pending) with a test key.

If no source answers within a few seconds, you get 424 upstream_unavailable with the check’s reference_id and status: "pending". Verath keeps your request encrypted and retries on its own for up to 72 hours. You’re never billed for a pending or failed check.

Add an HTTPS endpoint in the console’s Developers page to receive verification.completed when a pending check (or a link) finishes, and verification.failed after 72 hours without an answer. Or poll GET /v1/kyc/checks/{reference_id}. Webhooks carry match results only, never record fields. Verify the Verath-Signature header with your endpoint’s secret before trusting a delivery:

import { createHmac, timingSafeEqual } from "node:crypto";

// Verify a Verath webhook before trusting it.
export function verifyVerathWebhook(rawBody, header, secret, toleranceSec = 300) {
  const parts = Object.fromEntries(header.split(",").map((p) => p.split("=")));
  const t = Number(parts.t);
  if (!t || Math.abs(Date.now() / 1000 - t) > toleranceSec) return false; // replay protection
  const expected = createHmac("sha256", secret).update(`${t}.${rawBody}`).digest();
  const given = Buffer.from(parts.v1 ?? "", "hex");
  return given.length === expected.length && timingSafeEqual(given, expected);
}

Wallet. GET /v1/wallet returns your balance in kobo, what’s held for running checks, what’s available and this month’s spend. Set a low-balance alert level in the console’s Billing page and subscribe to wallet.low_balance to hear when the available balance drops below it (at most once a day).

Errors return JSON with error.code and a plain message, and every response carries a Request-Id header. Quote it to support.

1. Send your company details in the console (Settings → Company). Verath reviews them within one working day.
2. Once approved, create a live key (vk_live_) and fund your wallet.
3. Switch the console to Live to see live checks, spend and the request log.

The full API reference (OpenAPI) is in the console under Developers. Questions about pricing or going live: sales@verath.io. Something not working: support@verath.io. Source health is on the status page.