Rand Merchant Bank Transfer Code 2024

Rand Merchant Bank is a big proponent of multiple banking channels, from being one of the first conventional Nigerian banks to have fully functioning mobile apps to unveiling its iconic Magic Banking USSD banking service ahead of competitors nearly a decade ago.

Rand Merchant Bank Magic Banking is basically mobile banking on steroids. While you need a smartphone and an internet connection to access the Rand Merchant Bank mobile app for mobile banking, Magic Banking cuts off those unnecessary requirements. With just a feature phone and a SIM card, you can access pretty much any Rand Merchant Bank banking function through Magic Banking.

If that sounds too good to be true, consider sticking around till the end of this guide. In this post, you’ll learn what the Rand Merchant Bank transfer code is, how to set it up for your account, and how to complete basic Magic Banking Transactions using the transfer code.

What’s the Rand Merchant Bank transfer code?

If you opened a Rand Merchant Bank account in the last decade, you’re likely only familiar with app and ATM-based transactions on your account. However, you may be unaware of Rand Merchant Bank’s three-digit transfer code dubbed “Magic Banking.”

The appeal is clear: while you need a smartphone or a trip to the nearest ATM stand to use the app and ATM banking channels respectively, you don’t need any of that with the Rand Merchant Bank transfer code. Simply get a phone, literally any kind of phone that uses a SIM card, insert the SIM card linked to your Rand Merchant Bank account, and start banking.

The Rand Merchant Bank code for Magic Banking is *5659#, and it works on any smartphone capable of sending SMS. In the following sections, you’ll learn how to activate the code and the banking operations possible through Rand Merchant Bank’s 5659 transfer code.

How to activate Rand Merchant Bank transfer code

The Rand Merchant Bank transfer code requires an initial setup to verify your identity before you can start using it for transactions. There are generally two ways to activate your Rand Merchant Bank transfer code for transactions: the prepaid card option and the cardless option.

The former only works for customers that already have a prepaid card from Rand Merchant Bank. If you’re don’t have the card yet, applying for one for the sole purpose of activating your Rand Merchant Bank transfer code is simply not worth it.

If you already have the prepaid card, however, here are the steps required to activate your Rand Merchant Bank transfer code:

• Dial *5659# on the phone number linked to your Rand Merchant Bank bank account.
• Select “Accept” on the initial prompt informing you of the applicable charges.
• The resulting popup should bring up a list of USSD banking services. Select any of the services (apart from account opening).
• Rand Merchant Bank will prompt you to activate your account. Choose to verify your account using the prepaid card option.
• Enter your card number and follow the resulting on-screen instructions to link your card.

However, if you don’t already have a prepaid card from Rand Merchant Bank, the cardless verification method should work better for you. Here are the steps required to setup Rand Merchant Bank Magic Banking via USSD without a prepaid card:

• Dial *5659# and select any available Rand Merchant Bank USSD banking service.
• Rand Merchant Bank should prompt you to sign up to continue.
• On the next page, select the “Account with PIN” option to proceed with activating your Rand Merchant Bank transfer code without a prepaid card.
• Enter your 10-digit account number on your next page to commence the activation process.
• Input your Rand Merchant Bank account PIN to verify your identity and complete the Rand Merchant Bank transfer code setup.

If you entered the correct details, the activation process should be successful and you should be able to start accessing Rand Merchant Bank USSD banking services.

How to transfer funds using the Rand Merchant Bank transfer code

Once you’ve activated your Rand Merchant Bank transfer code, you can start using it for different transactions, from transferring funds to buying airtime and even paying bills. If you’re reading this, you’re most likely setting up USSD banking to transfer funds from your Rand Merchant Bank account, and I’ll show you exactly how to do just that.

Here are the steps required to transfer money to another bank using the Rand Merchant Bank transfer code:

• Dial *5659# to open the Rand Merchant Bank Magic Banking service menu
• Accept any Terms and Conditions if there are any
• Select the “Transfers” option from the USSD banking menu (it’s the third option for now)
• Set up your USSD transfer code if you haven’t done that already
• Select the recipient’s bank and enter their account number
• Confirm their name and enter how much you’d like to send
• Authenticate the transfer using your PIN or the last few digits of your card number

At this point, you should’ve successfully transferred the funds from your Rand Merchant Bank account to the recipient’s bank account. The entire process should take less than a minute, and you should attempt to complete it as quickly as possible.

Since the entire transaction is over USSD, it has a pretty short timeout, and if the transaction isn’t over before that timeout, you may be cut off automatically.

If you’re repeatedly experiencing timeouts, you can use the short codes *5659*3*Account Number# and *5659*4*Account Number# to send money to Rand Merchant Bank and to other banks respectively.

What services are available through the Rand Merchant Bank transfer code?

Nearly all the banking services available on the Rand Merchant Bank app are also available through the Rand Merchant Bank transfer code. Here are basic banking operations available to all Rand Merchant Bank customers through Rand Merchant Bank’s Magic Banking service:

• Account opening
• Funds transfer (Rand Merchant Bank to Rand Merchant Bank and Rand Merchant Bank to other banks)
• Airtime and data topups
• Flight payments
• Balance check
• Cardless withdrawals
• OTP generation
• BVN retrieval
• PIN change/reset
• Taxes and levies

Note that this is not an exhaustive list. You can dial *5659# on your device to view the full list of transactions available to all Rand Merchant Bank customers.

Conclusion

Rand Merchant Bank’s Magic Banking isn’t a novel idea in the Nigerian banking industry, but it’s an excellent example of a transfer code well done. Because USSD-based banking targets dumbphones without internet, you’d naturally expect them to lack plenty of features, but that’s not the case with the Rand Merchant Bank transfer code. Armed with *5659#, you can access nearly just as many services as the average Rand Merchant Bank customer using the Android or iOS app!