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New to virtual accounts? Read the overview first — it explains how single-use accounts fit alongside permanent and permanent_collection, and what happens when an incoming payment doesn’t match amount or arrives after duration has elapsed.
Single-use virtual accounts are ideal for checkout flows where you want to collect one specific amount from one specific payer, optionally within a bounded window of time. Unlike permanent/permanent_collection accounts, this one isn’t meant to be reused — it’s created for exactly one expected payment.
duration, when you send it, must be a string of digits — "duration": "120", not "duration": 120. Sending a JSON number, or a string containing anything but digits, is rejected as a validation error.

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Endpoint

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Headers

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string
required
Your public API key.
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string
required
Your API secret. Use a stl_test_... value in sandbox, stl_live_... in production.
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string
required
Your business ID.

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Request body

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string
required
First name to assign to the virtual account holder.
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string
required
Last name to assign to the virtual account holder.
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string
required
A unique reference code from your system to identify this account and the corresponding transaction.
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integer
required
The exact amount the account expects to receive, in kobo. For example, 500000 equals ₦5,000. A payment for any other amount — more or less — automatically fails rather than being credited as a successful collection — see amount and duration matching.
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string
How long the account stays valid, in minutes, sent as a digits-only string — e.g. "120" for 2 hours. A payment received after this window has elapsed from account creation is not accepted as a normal collection. Optional — if you omit it, the account never expires on its own; only the amount match applies.
amount is required. duration is optional — omit it for an account that stays open indefinitely (still constrained to the exact amount, just with no time limit).

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Response

Returns 201 Created on success.
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boolean
true on success.
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string
Confirmation message, e.g. "Account generated successfully".
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string
The NUBAN account number generated for this single-use account.
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string
The name on the account, derived from the firstName and lastName provided.
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string
The refCode you supplied, echoed back for confirmation.
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string
A unique reference generated by Interstellas for this account.
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string
The exact amount this account expects, in kobo — echoes the amount you supplied.
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string
ISO 8601 timestamp of when this account stops accepting payments as valid — duration minutes after creation. null if you didn’t send duration, meaning the account never expires on its own.

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Code examples

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Example response

All amounts are in kobo. Divide by 100 to convert to naira.

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What happens when a payment arrives

  • Exact match, within the window (or no duration set) — the transfer completes normally.
  • Amount doesn’t exactly match what you set on creation — the transfer automatically fails, regardless of whether the difference is an underpayment or an overpayment.
  • Received after duration has elapsed — the transfer automatically fails, even if the amount matches exactly. If you didn’t set duration, this doesn’t apply — only the amount match is checked, and the account never expires on its own.

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Errors

See Errors for the full envelope and error code reference.