Are you based out of Nigeria and looking to send money back home in Nigeria or are you a freelancer, or business contractor looking for how to receive money from international clients?
Read this comprehensive guide to know more.
What is an International Money Transfer?
An international money transfer is an electronic transfer of money sent by one party (friend, family, business-related) to another party through a bank, money transfer service, or a third party. The funds sent can be delivered “as it is” or exchanged for the local currency at the prevailing exchange rates. According to a 2020 Nilson Report, shared by Cardrates there were 368.92 billion purchase transactions for goods and services worldwide in 2018. That is roughly 1.01 billion credit card transactions occur every day around the world.
How do I send money through Remitly to Nigeria?
Remitly is a money transfer service that aims to make the online money transfer process faster, more affordable, and more transparent. Nigerians can now safely send money online to banks in Nigeria with Remitly. Residents can send direct deposits to all major banks across Nigeria. Remitly offers promotion initiatives to new Nigerian Remitly customers. In these five simple steps listed below, you can send money through Remitly to Nigeria:
- Create an account.
- Choose your delivery partner.
- Enter your recipient’s name and address.
- Enter your payment information.
- Track your transfer with email and text updates for you and your recipient.
What Are My Rights When It Comes to Money Transfers?
There are several laws guiding electronic money transfer activities regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria. These laws may affect the exchange rates, and occasionally, the local bank’s payout delivery method. Also, since most well-known online money transfer companies are certified and regulated in the country they are domiciled in, your funds are safe, and if anything happens, you can take legal action.
Are money transfer companies safe?
The International money transfer system remains one of the most efficient ways to send money to another party overseas. The entire process is done electronically to get your money from Point X to Point Y. In today’s hyperconnected world, there are tons of money transfer services across the internet ecosystem. All online money transfers through Remitly are protected by a secure, 256-bit encrypted connection, with full KYC (Know Your Customer) compliance.
Generally, these are key pointers you should look out for when you want to use a money transfer service:
- Choose a licensed, regulated and reputable money transfer service.
- Do not transfer money to someone you have not vetted personally. Once the money hits the receiver’s account, it’s very difficult to get it back.
- Protect your personal data at all cost. Avoid executing international money transfer transactions over an unsecured Wi-Fi network.
How Much Does an International Money Transfer Cost to Nigeria?
To send and receive money in USD or any other foreign currency usually attracts a pre-set percentage amount, dynamic fee or a standard transfer fee depending on what online money transfer company you use. Before engaging the services of any money transfer company, you should do a quick check on the transfer fee needed to execute the international transaction. For example, Remitly’s transfer fee is not a fixed percentage or amount. The rates start from as little as $2.49 for the “economy” option and $3.99 for the “express” option. Transfer fees for Remitly can vary based on the amount in question, and the delivery speed you select. Express requests usually attract a higher fee, while Economy will offer lower fees but a slightly longer delivery period.
What Should I look for when Comparing International Money Transfer Providers in Nigeria?
As mentioned earlier, there are several International Money transfer providers in Nigeria. If you are looking to send money overseas, or receive money from a friend, client, relative overseas, these are some of the factors you should consider before you choose an online money transfer company.
- Exchange rates
- Taxes in both the beneficiary and receiver’s country
- Transfer fees
- Transaction Speed
What is the best money transfer company in Nigeria?
We have compiled a list of the best money transfer companies in Nigeria for Nigerians based on a set of factors including but not limited to affordability, flexibility, transaction speed, acceptability, and more. Major fintech companies like PayPal do not allow Nigerians to receive money from overseas – which means freelancers, and local businesses that collaborate with foreign companies in other countries have to depend on other online money transfer services.
- Remitly:
Remitly is a digital remittance service on a mission to make the money transfer process faster, affordable, and more transparent. Because Remitly is a digital service without any physical locations, they can keep their costs low and pass those savings on to you. Remitly is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (reference no. 728639) for the provision of payment service. The company was founded by Matt Oppenheimer in 2010 with the name Beamlt Mobile.
Pros for Remitly:
Affordability and Speed:
Remitly offers two types of services namely express and economy. Customers who choose economy can deposit from their bank account into their Remit wallet, and send the funds to their desired destination. The recipient will receive the money in 3-5 days. The express transfer option is available for users who need to send money faster. The fees are slightly higher but the delivery window is super-fast. The recipient will receive the money in minutes.
Flexibility and User Friendly:
One of the most remarkable features of Remitly is its user-friendly interface both on their website and mobile application. New users can register swiftly, verify their account information and send money that same day. Remitly has a huge bank network, which means users can send money to recipients that don’t have a bank account. The recipient will receive a message to visit the bank’s branch and collect their funds with ease.
Tracking:
Remitly allows its users to track monies sent overseas. Users will receive occasional text message alerts and a final message when the transfer has been completed.
Rave Reviews:
It’s easy nowadays to see rave reviews sponsored by the company itself. On Trustpilot, users have awarded Remitly an 8.8 rating out of ten and have shared their positive experiences sending and receiving money with Remitly.
Cons for Remitly:
Sending Limit:
As part of its efforts to ensure transparency, and prevent fraud, there’s a maximum amount of money a user can send per month.
- Xoom:
Xoom is a digital payment company founded in 2001 and acquired by Paypal in 2005. With Xoom, you can only send money from these 4 major currencies (USD, CAD, EUROS, GBP)]. XOOM allows users to do both bank transfer and cash pickup, or cash pickup only or bank transfer only.
Pros for Xoom:
Good Sending Options:
You can send money to a bank, send cash for pick-up and you can also opt for Xoom’s home delivery service.
Regulated and Safe:
As a PayPal-owned business, Xoom is regulated by both state and federal US government agencies.
Cons for Xoom:
High Mark-Up Rates:
Xoom charges a high mark-Up on exchange rates.
Bad Reviews
On Consumers Affairs, Xoom has been rated poorly by quite a number of users for its poor customer service amongst other things.
- Payoneer:
Payoneer is a popular international money transfer service that allows its members to accept payments from overseas, receive funds from freelance platforms, ad publishers, and affiliate networks. The company started its operation in 2005 and has quickly become one of the most used online payment platforms today.
Pros for Payoneer:
- Global Payment Service
- Direct Bank withdrawal
- Referral Bonus
Cons for Payoneer:
- Pricey Card Renewal Charge
- “Below than Average” Customer support
- Available mostly to only freelancers and digital marketers
- OFX
Founded in 1998, OFX has achieved tremendous growth as one of the most viable alternatives to Western Money and Union Gram in the international money transfer space. OFX only specializes in bank deposits and transfers are processed quickly.
Pros for OFX:
- Free to Open an account
- Easy tracking through SMS, email, and mobile app
- 24/7 customer service
- Over 55 different currency options
Cons for OFX:
- No option for same-day delivery
- There is a minimum transfer amount
- No cash pick-up locations, only the custom electronic transfer option is available.
- Azimo
Founded in 2012, and headquartered in London, UK, Azimo offers swift 24/7 money transfer services to any bank account in Nigeria. With Azimo, users can send money to Nigeria without hassles, even during weekends and public holidays. Azimo charges variable or fixed fees on its transfers, usually between £1-10.
Pros for Azimo:
- Multilingual Support – The Azimo website supports 8 languages including Russian, Italian, English, French, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian.
- No minimum amount – Users can send as low as $1
- Low Transfer fees for both hefty and small electronic transfers.
Cons for Azimo:
- Limited Customer support (Monday – Friday 9:00 – 18:00 UK time)
- Delayed Refund Process in cases of Payment Failure
- Ria:
Ria is an international money transfer company located in several countries including the USA, Canada UK, India, Australia, and Germany. The financial payment service company started in New York in 1987 and was later bought by Euronet. Ria has enjoyed steady growth and in 2014, scored a large partnership deal with Walmart.
Pros for Ria
- Ria prides itself as one of the most secured money transfer platforms.
- International Cash transfer services are also available.
- Ria offers one of the best currency exchange rates, even better than banks.
Cons for Ria
- Card payments are very expensive.
- Fluctuating transfer costs and exchange rates in certain countries.
- Western Union:
Western Union has established itself as a premier international money transfer company with over 100,000 branches across 185 branches. Western Union is used by all and sundry, making it the most transaction-handling institution in the global money transfer world.
Pros for Western Union
- Reliability – As one of the most reliable money transfer companies, users can fully trust Western Union to deliver on their promise when sending money overseas.
- Several Locations – Western Union operates several branches even in some of the smallest countries in the world.
Cons for Western Union
- Liability Disclaimer – Western Union explicitly states that it won’t be responsible for any loss of funds even if their agents mishandle the process.
- Relatively high transfer fees.
- Limited Customer service – You may have to visit a physical branch if you have a complaint.
- Transferwise:
Transferwise provides cheap international bank transfers at good exchange rates. Transferwise users have access to a borderless account for international transactions that supports a lot of features just like a traditional bank account. Established in 2011, Transferwise has maintained its reputation as one of the cheaper yet reliable international money transfer companies.
Pros for Transferwise:
- No minimum amount – Users can send as low as $1
- High daily transfer limit- Users can send up to $40,000 daily
Cons for Transferwise:
- Transferwise does not have a banking license.
- Sign up process is long and arduous. It requires users to submit a national ID and utility bill.
- No option for cash or cheque, only bank transfers
- WorldRemit
WorldRemit specializes in remittances and relatively smaller transfers. With over 2 million users, WorldRemit has built its reputation as the go-to online money transfer companies especially in regions such as Asia, Africa and South America. As part of its mission to gain more global acceptance and credibility, WorldRemit has partnered with Union Pay Debit Cards in China.
Pros for World Remit:
- No minimum amount – Users can send as low as $1
- Great user-friendly website with 24/7 customer support
- Users can use the in-built online calculator for quote calculations
Cons for WorldRemit:
- WorldRemit does not offer support for small businesses.
- There is a daily transaction limit of $10,000, and it is lower in some countries.
- Not all transfer methods are available in all countries. Some countries can’t access the cash pick up option.
- MoneyGram
Touted as the direct competitor to Western Union, MoneyGram International is the second-largest international money transfer establishment in the world. MoneyGram allows its users to send and receive money through its mobile application using a debit card, credit card, or bank account.
Pros for MoneyGram:
- MoneyGram has an active presence in over 200 countries across the globe.
- MoneyGram is a popular choice for speed and urgent transfers.
Cons for MoneyGram:
- Fluctuating transfer costs and exchange rates in certain countries.
- Bank account transfer option is only available in US and UK. Users from other countries can only pay with a debit or credit card, or in cash at an agent location.
CHOOSING THE BEST MONEY TRANSFER COMPANY FOR YOU
Congrats, you made it to the end. Choosing the best money transfer company for you all comes down to your unique needs and requirements. You should generally opt for safety, speed, and affordability when looking to send money overseas. We hope our list has provided enough insight as regards the Top 10 Money Transfer Companies for Sending Money to Nigeria.
