How To Send And Receive Money From Aboard (A Step-By-Step Guide)

This article is for you if you are planning to send or receive money from different part of the world or you are considering which method is best for sending or receiving money in Nigeria from abroad. 

A lot of people in Nigeria have been wondering how to send or receive money from business partners, friends, colleague, and even family members that stay outside the shore of the country, this article will give you a step-by-step guide on how to send or receive money in Nigeria from abroad. 

With the current global advancement in technology, it is a lot easier now to receive money from outside Nigeria into your bank account or mobile money wallet without fear of losing your money.

There is no limit to the amount of cash one can receive in Nigeria according to the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) recent guideline on International Money Transfer.

Best Ways To Send And Receive Money In Nigeria From Abroad

There are several ways of sending and receiving money from outside Nigeria, we will be looking at the following which are the most convenient ones for now.

Domiciliary Account

A domiciliary account is an account that permits you to hold money in other currencies, other than the Naira. It is mainly used by Nigerian businesses and individuals for the transfer of funds direct to foreign receiving accounts for the settlement of business transactions and other purposes.

A domiciliary account is particularly useful when large sums of money are to be transferred abroad. Most of the banks in Nigeria have domiciliary account types for the United dollar (USD), Euro (EUR), and Great Britain Pound (GBP).

Opening a Domiciliary account is similar to that of a current or savings account and requires the following; completed account opening form, valid means of identification, BVN, two references, recent utility bill and passport photograph.

So sending money abroad using one’s domiciliary account will involve presenting the recipient’s bank details including the account name, account number, name of the bank and branch name, Swift Code, Routing Number, as well as the sum of the money to be transferred, which will be converted into the destination currency at prevailing forex exchange rates.

The transaction will be consummated after the procedure highlighted above have been done, then the sender will receive an SMS notification, usually within a 48-72 hour period, informing that the originating (sender’s) account has been debited and the recipient’s account has been credited.

Payoneer

Payoneer is a financial services company that provides online money transfer and digital payment services present in over 200 countries worldwide.

Payoneer account holders can send and receive funds into their bank account, Payoneer e-wallet, or onto a re-loadable prepaid MasterCard debit card that can be used online or at points-of-sale.

To start using Payoneer services in Nigeria, you will need a Payoneer Mastercard, which is a universal credit card for paying and buying online.

This card is given free of charge, so to apply for Payoneer MasterCard in Nigeria, Log onto www.payoneer.com, after you have log-in fill in your details which includes full name, address and your preferred means of identification.

After that is done, set your password, provide answers to the secret question asked which may include your preferred means of identification (drivers license or international passport) and provide the details of the ID as required then click the ORDER button, you are done registering on Payoneer.

At the completion of your registration, the MasterCard will be sent to the shipping address you filled in the application process within a few weeks or months.

Paypal

PayPal is one of the largest global online payment platforms employed by merchants and individuals for the payment of goods and services across the world. It is presently used by close to 100 million people on a regular basis.

Paypal had shut Nigeria out for years due to our notoriety for internet-related fraud but lifted these restrictions as fraud techniques improved as well as Nigeria’s notion as the largest economy in Africa.

To open a Paypal account, you will need to log on to www.paypal.com/ng and sign up. Ensure you follow through the instruction given because with Paypal services, you are able to send money and the recipients get it's in minutes

When making personal payments out of your PayPal balance or linked checking account, PayPal is free. But you will need to pay a fee if you send from a debit or credit card. You will also need to pay a fee if you receive a business payment via PayPal.

READ ALSO: How To Check BVN On All Network, Bank Mobile App

Also, to use Paypal internationally, you will have to pay a fee for each international transfer which varies between countries. For example, if you transfer $20 to anyone abroad, you will be debited in Naira at the applicable exchange rate and alerted by your local bank.

MoneyGram

Moneygram is an American money transfer company that uses a high-performance, web-based application that makes it easy for customers to receive their money within a few minutes of their payment request.

With MoneyGram, you can send money to over 200 countries from Nigeria to family and friends. The service has a maximum send limit of 1000USD naira equivalent per customer every quarter and is available to account and non-account holders.

First Bank of Nigeria and UBA is one of Nigeria’s banks that offers the best MoneyGram service. We will use the UBA MoneyGram service to explain to you how to send and receive money in Nigeria through MoneyGram.

To send money: Visit any UBA branch, complete and submit a MoneyGram ‘send form’ with the details of your transfer. Once the transaction is processed, a Reference Code is generated. The Sender then sends this code to the Beneficiary receive the money at a UBA Branch.

To receive money: Money can be received directly into a UBA account or at a UBA branch with the reference code received from the sender. At the branch, the beneficiary will complete and submit ‘receive form’. Once details have been verified, the beneficiary receives cash in their local currency.

While beneficiaries of MoneyGram can receive transferred money at any of First Bank outlets by providing the following: Transfer Reference Number, Expected Amount, Acceptable means of identification (Bank Verification Number), Sender’s name and country (for transfers coming from the US, city to be included), Test Question and Answer (optional), Fully completed form. Then you can request that the money be sent to your bank account.

RIA Money Transfer

RIA Money Transfer is one of the largest international money transfer companies in the world. With a worldwide network in over 140 countries with 314,000 locations.

This international money transfer provides not only easy-to-use money transfers but also bill payments, mobile recharge, debit card services, money orders and tracking.

RIA allows you to receive the money sent within minutes directly into your bank naira account or cash at any of your bank branch close to you from friends and family living abroad.

To receive money from RIA Money, you will need to visit your nearest authorized RIA location, then provide your PIN and valid country-issued ID to collect your money. To find your closest Ria location

If you want to send money with RIA, you need to register an account online. You can get this done just visiting RIA online. After registration and authorization, you need to choose how much you need to send and calculate exchanged money.

There are three payment methods: it can be through a bank account, debit or credit card. This is the way the money will be sent to the recipient's account. Through RIA Money Transfer you can easily track your transaction till the money reaches the recipient.

Also, it is possible to send and receive money offline using RIA money transfer. You can visit Diamond Bank, First Bank or Skye Bank departments or any RIA cash point, the procedure is very simple for receiving, you will be required to prove your identity via any of your Nigerian national identity cards, driver`s license or international passport.

You will also need to provide the pin you have been given by the sender. In addition, you have to tell them the amount of transaction the sender is sending to you. 

Western Union Money Transfer 

Do you know you can receive or send money directly from your account abroad with western union money transfer? Western Union is a leading financial service company in America that provide instant money transfer services when it comes to sending and receiving money across the globe. 

With Western Union, you can receive money transfer in US Dollars directly into your Domiciliary account or over the counter at any of your bank branches nationwide.

Meanwhile, transactions above $10,000 US dollars or local equivalent must be reported to Central Bank of Nigeria and sending transactions is only allowed within the country, not outside Nigeria

While on the other hand, receivers must present correct Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN), he or she must present a valid ID and US dollar payments in Nigeria are available at no charge to the receiver:

I will use FirstBank bank Western Union transfer as a typical example to explain to you how to send and receive money in Nigeria via western union. When it comes to Sending or Receiving money from abroad, there is no better way than FirstBank’s Western Union Money Transfer Services.

With over 25years partnership with Western Union, our wealth of experience in pioneering remittance payout gives us the edge in the market. We are open all through the week in our over 750 locations spread across the country and on weekends at designated locations to meet your demands.

It is important to note here that the Western Union Money Transfer remains a credible and popular choice for sending money from Nigeria to other countries.

Requirements for Sending Payments

• Sender’s name, Phone number, address
• The receiver’s name and country
• Amount in Naira
• Acceptable means of identification
• Sender must have a FirstBank account holder
• Test Question and Answer where applicable
• Maximum send limit of USD3,000 or its Naira equivalent per quarter per customer, as stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Requirements for Receiving Payments

• The Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN)
• Expected Amount
• Acceptable means of identification (Driver’s License, Permanent Voters Card, International Passport, National Identity Card and Biometric Verification Number)
• The receiver’s name, address and phone number
• Sender’s name and country (city to be included for transfers coming from the US and Mexico)
• Test Question and Answer where applicable.
• For direct to account, the recipient will only share their FirstBank account details with the senders

Skrill

Skrill is an e-commerce business that allows payments and money transfers to be made through the internet, with a focus on low-cost international money transfers.

With Skrill, money can be sent to an email address if the recipient of the money has a skrill account. Through this method, the money is automatically credited to their account. Otherwise, the recipient will be is notified to open a Skrill account to receive the money you sent.

However, the money is returned to you if the receiver does not accept the transfer within 14 days, but when you transfer money through Skrill, the money is received in the currency of the recipient’s account.

In Nigeria, Skrill offers an alternative means of transferring money abroad. Just like Paypal allows you to send and receive money, you can also do likewise with Skrill. 

All you need to do is to register on its website through www.skrill.com and follow the instructions you are provided with to complete the registration process. Skrill offers accounts in over 40 of the leading currencies of the world.

Neteller

Neteller is one of the world’s largest independent e-money transfer services used to transfer money to and from merchants, such as forex trading firms and social networks firms. Neteller can also withdraw funds directly using the Net+ card to transfer the balance to their own bank accounts.

Neteller is an electronic currency business use for online payments with a network in over 200 countries, Nigeria inclusive.

Money in a Neteller account can be used to pay merchants, send to customers or pay at any retailer that accepts Master card using the Neteller prepaid card that is part of the account.

To get the Neteller card you will need to visit the website via www.neteller.com and sign up.