10 Ways to Send Money to Nigeria from Abroad (2022)

10 Ways to Send Money to Nigeria from Abroad (2022)

According to the data collected by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria received direct remittances of $17.5 billion from Nigerians in Diaspora between January and November 2019. Of course, what will be recorded in December alone would make it higher.

If you have been wondering how people send money from abroad to Nigeria, such that the amount has gotten to this whooping sum above, then this post will give you that reliable answer. Sometimes it is also a hitch doing international business as a Nigerian because some international policies do not support money transfers to Nigerian accounts.

Services to Send Money to Nigeria from Abroad

But in this post, the top 10 ways to send money to Nigeria from abroad have been revealed. So go down carefully to grasp all you need to know.

You can make use of any of the below payment Solutions to:

Listed below are the best money transfer companies to send money to Nigeria from Abroad.

1. WESTERN UNION

Western Union (www.westernunion.com) is one of the most common methods of receiving money from abroad in Nigeria.

The company was established in 1851 as a telegraph service provider, but in 1871 the company added the money transfer services to their kit of services. Today, they no longer offer communication services

Western Union completed at least 34 transactions every minute in 2018. Billions of people around the world also send money to billions of accounts around the world, transacting in approximately 130 currencies.

From these, you will understand that Western Union is internationally recognized. Thus it is a safe way to either receive or send money in Nigeria. Their services are also reliable.

Disadvantages of Western Union:

• Western Union does not offer bank transfers. The money must be picked up in person at the designated location
• They do not also offer good exchange rates and they charge high service fees.

2. MONEYGRAM

MoneyGram (www.moneygram.com.ng) is like Western Union had long since been in the money payment service industry. Over time, many people have come to trust their services because of how rich in experience they are.

MoneyGram which has almost become a household name given to receiving and sending money abroad in Nigeria, allows you to send money directly into the recipient’s bank account.

Being a global money transfer and payment service company, they have a presence in over 200 countries, with approximately 350,000 agents’ locations. Commercial banks, post offices and retailers are the big partners of MoneyGram.

But you also send money via the online platform. Simply visit www.moneygram.com.ng and sign up. Enter the details and location of the supposed receiver and send. It is this same process that someone who wants to send you money from abroad will take.

Disadvantages of MoneyGram

• There is a limit to the amount of money you can receive via MoneyGram at a time.
• The transfer charges are pretty high, compared to charges by others in the same industry.

3. WORLDREMIT

You can also receive money in Nigeria through the WorldRemit (www.worldremit.com) platform. WorldRemit, therefore, is an online money transfer service provider, which delivers international remittances to expatriates and migrant workers.

WorldRemit is however one of the most popular methods for Nigerian working abroad sends money home. WorldRemit partners with commercial banks like Zenith Bank, First Bank and Access Bank, which make it easier to receive money in accounts domiciled in these banks from abroad.

Unlike the earlier stated methods, the WorldRemit charges are pretty smaller. This method is also fast and secure.

Disadvantages of WorldRemit:

• WorldRemit is not suitable when you want to transfer a large amount of money.
• WorldRemit is merely an online platform with no physical presence in Nigeria.

4. RIA MONEY

After Western Union and MoneyGram, Ria Money (www.riamoneytransfer.com) comes in as the world’s largest money transfer and payment company. Through Ria Money platform, you can receive money in Nigeria from anywhere in the world.

The company provides comprehensive money transfer services, leveraging on their large network of dedicated shops and affiliate agents around the world.

Ria Money is present in about 140 countries in America, Europe, North and Latin America and Africa. Aside from money transfer services, Ria also provides a platform where users can send money anywhere in the world from the United States.

Disadvantages of Ria Money:

• One can only send a maximum of $3000 at a time and $8000 over 30 days.
• The fees paid for transfers from the debit cards are usually high
• The number of countries from which you can send money is limited when compared with over 140 countries in which you can receive money from Ria.

5. TRANSFERWISE

TransferWise (www.transferwise.com) has a unique feature that other money transfer service providers do not have. This company allows users to transfer up to $1 billion in a month; hence they have come to be dubbed “Robin Hood.”

With TransferWise, you can get a huge amount of money across without much hinderance. On this platform, you will get the true mid-market exchange rate and every charge is made known to you (there are no hidden charges) and using the services of TransferWise could leave you startled in amazement.

Disadvantages of TransferWise

• It has been reviewed that the transfer speed of TransferWise is slow
• Money can only be sent into bank accounts; hence there is no domestic delivery of money on the platform.

6. DOMICILIARY ACCOUNT

A domiciliary account is a sort of local account in which you can receive foreign currencies. Therefore, domiciliary account has become one of the most important and safest ways to receive money from abroad, in Nigeria.

You can open a domiciliary account practically in commercial banks in Nigeria: UBA, Zenith Bank, Union Bank, First Bank, GTBank, FCMB and so on.

Nonetheless, you can only receive one type of currency in one domiciliary account. This means you cannot receive both dollar and Pounds Sterling in one account. If you must receive money in different currencies, you should have different domiciliary accounts for them.

Advantages of Domiciliary Accounts:

• You can trade easily with domiciliary accounts
• You can receive money from any part of the world with it, provided it is in the proper currency
• You can make money from any part of the world and get paid in foreign currencies.

Disadvantage of Domiciliary accounts:

• As already stated, only one type of currency is permitted on one account
• Bank charges on domiciliary accounts are relatively high.

7. PAYONEER

Payoneer (www.payoneer.com) is another platform with which you can receive money from while in Nigeria. It is specially designed for people who work on a freelance level, which will need to be receiving money from different companies abroad.

Although some company resist using Payoneer because of a reason best known to them. And with a Nigerian Paypal account, you can receive payments but you cannot withdraw the money.

Nevertheless, you can link your Nigerian Paypal account to your Payoneer account so that you can pull whatever money you received via Paypal into your Payoneer account, from where you can then get it into your local account in Nigeria.

Although the process could be rigorous and would involve more charges, it is way to go when do not have another way to head.

Disadvantages of Payoneer:

• The foreign exchange rate is quite low
• It has a one-time transfer limit of $1000. It means one cannot send you more than $1000 at a go.

8. SKRILL

Skrill (www.skrill.com) is another platform on which you can use to receive payments in Nigeria from abroad. Initially, Nigerians had to use VPNs and other tricks in order to access the services of Skrill, but today Nigeria has been listed among the eligible countries.

With Skrill, you can send money to anyone in Nigeria, having only the person’s email address. As a Nigerian Skrill user, you can withdraw directly from your Skrill account here in Nigeria.

Although there are no significant disadvantages of using Skrill online payment, they exist nonetheless. They will only surface as you continue to use the various services available on the platform.

9. NETELLER

Neteller is an online payment platform that has over 23 million account holders in about 200 countries, with Nigeria included. You can sign up within a minute and get money transferred to you from abroad. For cryptocurrency traders, Neteller is a great portal through which they withdraw their bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies.

With the Neteller prepaid Master Card, you can pay online and also send money to customers. You can get the Neteller prepaid card from the Neteller Website (www.neteller.com), after you have signed up.

One of the common disadvantages of using Neteller is that it will cost you some charges to either deposit or withdraw money.

10. AZIMO

Azimo (www.azimo.com) online payment platform is another secure and fast way of receiving payments in Nigeria from abroad. It was established in 2012 and in 2013 it won the Best Startup award from Payexpo.

The company has partners in over 198 countries of the world. They also work with the largest payment companies in the world and are regulated by the Free Carrier (FCA) and Her Royal Majesty and Custom (HRMC).

Azimo holds money in different currencies and can quickly transfer to more than 60 countries of which Nigeria is among.

The disadvantage of Azimo:

• Azimo does not have dedicated currency dealers
• The rates are not negotiable as they are all at fixed margins.

CONCLUSION

There is no better knowledge than when you know that you can easily receive payments from abroad through different tasted and trusted methods.

Aside from these top 10 methods, by which you can receive money from abroad, what other methods have you come across? Can you please pen it down in the comment section?