10 Easiest Ways to Send and Receive Money from Abroad in Nigeria

Are you looking for a risk-free, convenient, and best way to send money from abroad in Nigeria?

If yes, then this page is for you! If you’re a freelancer, or online business person or you have family living outside the country, you may need to send money to them or they send it to you here in Nigeria. But what’s the best and easiest way to do this?

Typically, it’s much easier to send or receive money right here in Nigeria from anyone within the country, at least, we have the financial institutions and their internet banking services. But in the case of international payments, it’s not easy and sometimes, risky.

There are many reasons why sending money to Nigeria from abroad is risky such as certain financial rules apply may be exclusive to a particular nation, logistics, trust (fear of being scammed), and many more.

Despite all these differences, people still receive money from abroad in Nigeria, and you too can.

Most of these payment methods or services to receive money in Nigeria are online based, and as such you should be familiar with navigating the internet while you can also try some offline without the internet. These payment services – either online or offline have their strong points and weaknesses, this implies that there’s NO 100% ‘best way’ to receive money in Nigeria from foreign countries, rather you could choose the most suitable option based on your situation and recipient, and in some cases the originating country.

Below are some of the best ways you can receive or send money from (or to) abroad in Nigeria.

10 Ways to Send and Receive Money from Abroad in Nigeria

1.      Western Union

First on my list is the popular Western Union (WU) services that let you send and receive money from friends and family members living outside Nigeria. Western Union is also listed as a means of payment in some online freelance marketplaces across the globe.

It being first on this list doesn’t make it the best means of receiving payment from abroad. In term of reputation and general market awareness, Western Union seem to be the most recognized platform for receiving international payments.

How to Receive Money from Abroad in Nigeria with Western Union

This means of receiving payment involves:

• Visiting the nearest commercial bank, as almost all commercial banks in the country are agents of this service and I advise you to use this medium when you receive a huge sum of money.
• Tell the bank you need to set up a way you can receive money from foreigners with Western Union and they will set everything up for you.
• You can do better without visiting the bank by creating an account on Western Union’s website.
• After setting up your account, the next thing is to send your details to the foreigners in order to send you the money
• After sending him/her your details, ask for the MTCN
• After 24 hours, go to any commercial bank to withdraw your money.

Frequently Asked Questions about Western Union

• QUES 1: What’s the requirement to open a Western Union account to receive money from Abroad in Nigeria?

ANS: You will need an ID card that bears the name and address you want to use to receive the money.

Note that using the Western Union service to receive payments offers little to no convenience as you’d be bombarded with lots of paper works; a valid means of identification, the Money Control Transfer Number (the sender will send this to you), the amount to be credited as indicated by the sender, the sender’s country and name. These are just the basics as several banks have varying requirements.

• QUES 2: Do I need my account number to receive money from Western Union?

ANS: No, you don’t need your account number.

• QUES 3: How much does it cost to send money to Western Union in Nigeria?

ANS:  According to CNN Money, Western Union charges $5 for a money transfer of up to $50, but a transfer of $900 could cost $76.

• QUES 4: What’s the meaning of MTCN in Western Union?

ANS: MTCN stands for Money Transfer Control Number. It’s a tracking number or a 10-digit reference code assigned to every single money transfer made with Western Union.

Okay, let’s check the second option if it’ll be easier;

2.      Payoneer

More like the PayPal service, but Nigeria is still plagued with the inability to receive funds; more like a one-way street! With issues like this, many Nigerians have decided to switch while awaiting the good news from PayPal.

Payoneer is a pretty new service and not well known, It packs lots of features like what’s found on PayPal and also offers you a MasterCard or Visa card which you can use locally in withdrawing your funds. Many freelance sites such as FIVERR are integrating this service as a means of payment.

Such wide acceptance goes to show the credibility and efficiency of such a means of payment.

As a freelancer, it makes life easier as it keeps you away from the banks (and all its stress) and lets you focus more on your job while using your Payoneer card on the go.

Amazing Offer: Click here to open a payoneer account and earn $25 bonus!

3.      MoneyGram

Many compare MoneyGram to Western Union, Well they’re not wrong as these two have similar structures and close-looking features, but what is MoneyGram and how can one use it to receive money from abroad in Nigeria?

MoneyGram is a world payment system that eases the means of payment across the world, this process made it possible by its affiliation with commercial banks across the globe. You can use the MoneyGram service by visiting any commercial banks in Nigeria – most banks with Western Union also support MoneyGram, and as with its counterpart, lots of paperwork awaits you.

Requirements to Receive Money in Nigeria from Abroad with MoneyGram

You will need stuff like:

• A valid ID card having the name and address you gave the foreigner.
• Reference number, Sender’s name, and his/her country in order to withdraw the money.

Other requirements will be requested depending on the bank you visit.

N/B: It’s important you use your current bank as this makes the process much easier.

4.      World Remit

Another wonderful service you could use to receive funds internationally in Nigeria is World Remit.

World Remit is an online money transfer service that facilitates the easy transfer of money from overseas to Nigeria. This service was launched primarily with the intention of easy cash transactions for international workers. As a freelancer or relative to someone overseas, you’d find the service pretty useful and straightforward.

One selling point of this service is its lower charge rate when compared to its counterparts. Not much paperwork is required, just a few clicks online and you are good to go. It’s not advisable to use this service for receiving large amounts!

5.      Ria Money

Ria Money is a similar service to that of Western Union and MoneyGram. One distinction is that Ria Money also uses local kiosks and shops in and around major cities the facilitate cash transfers. It’s quite similar to WU in terms of structure, lesser transaction fees are charged thereby leading to longer transaction times.

The service can be accessed online or via its local agents scattered around Nigeria and can be used in receiving money. You can also receive your funds via credit cards, and bank accounts, but you’d incur more charges when you make use of either credit or debit cards.

6.      Skrill

Skrill has been around for a while now, it’s built mainly for skilled workers who intend to monetize their skills online. Mainly freelancers especially on this side of the world find it difficult to receive payments after doing a job for their clients.

PayPal which is widely supported by most of these sites still doesn’t allow users in Nigeria to receive money – you could say that this is a substitute for PayPal. Skrill is now widely supported by freelance sites and beginning to garner global acceptance.

The service which is online based will allow you to link either your credit card or local bank account to its site, with this you can rest assured of getting all your payments in a timely manner.

7.      Wire Transfer

The 7th on the list is the good old Wire transfer which transfers the cash directly to your bank account. A major drawback in using this means in receiving payment from abroad in Nigeria is the time it takes for the money to arrive in your account and other technical difficulties that may arise from using Wire Transfer.

As long as you have a functional bank account, you could use this service in receiving funds, but be ready to wait for at least, 3-5 business days.

8. Remitly

I have been using Remitly for a few years now and it is the best option I would recommend if you want to send or receive money from Abroad to Nigeria.

If you are sending, all you need to do is ask for the receiver’s bank details including the bank’s SWIFT code, and in a few minutes, the money will be sent to the receiver. To get started with Remitly, go to their website here.

As a receiver, after providing the details the sender asked, relax and expect a notification from your bank.

If the money finally drops into your account, you will need to go and withdraw the dollars and then sell to dollar exchangers, or you can ask your bank to convert the dollars to Naira on your account. But you know banks’ rates are not as high as Aboki’s rates.

9. SendCash Africa

This is also pretty straightforward and in minutes, the money will be available to the receiver.

As a sender, you need the receiver’s local bank details and you head to sendcash’s website to start the transaction.

10. Cryptocurrency

You have to be very careful when dealing with cryptocurrency as any single mistake will push your money into “vanishing”, so if you don’t know anything about Crypto, please use any of the methods mentioned above.

If you know about crypto, then you should be able to sort yourself out.

You’re welcome.

Start Sending and Receiving Money effortlessly

Some people would expect PayPal to be on the list but, I’ve intentionally skipped them. The reason is due to the technicalities involved if you choose to go through the back door, not everyone will be comfortable with that as PayPal Nigeria doesn’t support receiving of funds.

In conclusion, these mediums however easy or complicated they may be, have their best use cases and you should choose your preferred method based on the current situation.

I hope you’ve learned a lot, Let me know which of these services you use to receive money from abroad in Nigeria and I’ll be glad to update this post with your new method if its result is great.