How do I send money abroad? This is one of the most common questions Nigerians ask Google. And as it is necessary, we have to proffer answer to this question knowing full well that CBN has tightened its policy on outbound money transfer services.
There are some recognized financial institutions, banks, online payment platforms and other money transfer operators who deploy technology to transfer money abroad. Even with the availability of these international money transfer service providers, many Nigerians still do not know how to send money abroad. If you fall into the category of these people who want to send money abroad from Nigeria but do not know how to go about it – this post is for you.
Definitely, this post will show you how to send money abroad from Nigeria. This is because; we’ll be exploring how to send money abroad via international money transfer services. In other words, your; “how to send money abroad question” will be answered when you understand how some of these international money transfer services works.
Some of the top international money transfer service providers you can access to send money abroad include:
- Banks (via domiciliary Account)
- Western union
- MoneyGram
- PayPal
- Skrill
Let’s explore how to send money abroad from Nigeria; now that you’re aware of top international money transfer service providers. Ensure you compare and contrast their requirement, transfer charges, maximum transfer limits and how long it takes for the transfer to arrive the receiver’s destinations.
The following are our top 5 ways to send Money abroad:
- Western Union
- MoneyGram
- Domiciliary account
- PayPal
- Skrill
Send Money abroad via Western Union
Western Union is one of the reliable ways to send money abroad. The financial company has been in operation for over 145 years, and has established a network of over half a million agents worldwide. In Nigeria, there are over 5,000 Western Union outlets and 70% of the 22 CBN licensed banks serve as agents to Western Union.
Though, not all the 22 licensed banks offer outbound money transfer services of Western Union. As of the time of writing this article, Firstbank of Nigeria is at the top lead of agents’ bank that offers outbound money transfer services of Western Union.
So if you intend to send money abroad, you can do this by going to any Western Union outlets, agents (e.g. Firstbank) or Online. Meanwhile, a visit to the Western Union website says, “Western Union online service is not available but will be back soon”. So, the best option is to use the services of a Western Union Agent (e.g. Firstbank).
Here are the procedures:
- Go to any Western Union Agent (e.g. Firstbank) nearest to you with naira equivalent of money you intend to send abroad, and a valid means of identification.
- Meet the foreign exchange cashier and request the forms for sending money internationally.
- Fill the forms with the correct recipient’s personal information, bank account details, SWIFT Code and the amount you want to send abroad.
- Finally, you will be asked to provide a standard transfer charge of approx. N16, 500 for every $2000 you’ll send abroad; a fixed VAT, tax deduction and telex (optional fee).
Ensure you keep the share MTCN code that will be given to you safe. It takes 2-5 business days for the fund to arrive your receiver’s destinations.
Send Money Abroad via Domiciliary Account
Domiciliary account is one of best means to send money abroad. The account isn’t difficult to setup. It requires a government issued ID card (National ID card, Drivers License, permanent Voters Card or International Passport ), utility bill, and 2 passport photograph. And again, 2 referees who own a current account domiciled within the same bank, some banks prefers.
As the account is a foreign account, you select dollar, euro and pound as you fill the domiciliary account opening form. The domiciliary account setup takes 5 – 14 working days. Upon completion, your account details would be sent to you via SMS. Once you received your account details, your domiciliary account is ready for use
Proceed to fund the account. Only foreign currencies such as dollars, pounds, or euros are used to fund domiciliary account to enables you do foreign transactions on that account.
Nigerian banks do not exchange or sell foreign currencies. So, they’ll refer you to buy from black market. Black market rate is of course high. Once you buy the foreign currency, go back to the bank to deposit it. The fund will reflect in your account, immediately.
Now that you have foreign currencies in your domiciliary account, you can send the money abroad through your mobile App or bank cashier. The bank charges a transfer fee, fixed VAT and optionally telex.
Here is a summary of the procedure:
- Open a domiciliary account
- Fund the domiciliary account with foreign currencies
- Fill the transfer form with your bank OR login into mobile App to fill– (you need recipient’s Account Name, bank and branch name, Swift code and Routing No. at this stage)
- Finally, send the money abroad
If you send money abroad by this means, it takes 2- 3 business days for the fund to arrive your receiver’s destinations.
Send Money Abroad via MoneyGram
MoneyGram is another top means to send money abroad. The financial company has been in operation for years just like Western Union. They are the second-biggest money transfer company in the world. MoneyGram offers the best choice for Nigerian to send money abroad. A Procedure that is much more similar to Western Union.
If you intend to use MoneyGram to send money abroad, either visit MoneyGram agent outlets (e.g. UBA) closest to you or send money internationally online. You can also download MoneyGram App on Google play store or Appstore. Sign up and link your credit card or debt card to account. Load your credit card or debit card with money and send. That’s easy!
It takes 2- 3 working days for the fund to arrive your receiver’s destinations.
Send Money via PayPal
Having a PayPal account allows you to send money abroad. The American multinational financial technology company operates an online payments system that support online money transfers across different countries of the world. The only challenge with PayPal is that, while you can send money abroad through PayPal; you won’t be able to receive money in Nigeria with it. That’s as of the time of writing this article.
If you intend to send money abroad through PayPal, either open a PayPal account online via PayPal website or visit PayPal Agent (e.g. Firstbank) outlet. You can also download PayPal mobile App from Google play store and sign up for PayPal account.
Once you create a PayPal account, login into your PayPal account and link your credit or debit card to the account. Firstbank debit card works best for Nigerian. Fill receiver’s details. Load the card with money and send it.
The money reaches the recipient’s destination immediately.
Send Money Abroad With Skrill
Skrill, a UK financial company established in 2001 offers a range of money transfer services and online payment that works similarly to PayPal. With Skrill, you can send money online abroad from Nigeria without hassle. Interestingly, this is our number one way to send money abroad.
The procedure is as follows:
- Create Skrill account – The number step is to go to Skrill website and sign up for personal account. You do this with your email address and choosing a strong password.
- Verify account – The next is to verify your account using your government card (National ID, Drivers license or international passpaort) and utility bill.
- Fund Account – Upload funds into your account using your Debit card and select the amount you want to send. If you are sending $200 for example, you may need to send $210 due to transaction charges.
- Input recipient’s detail -– Before a successful transfer of money abroad, you should have the recipient’s email address ready.
- Review detail – Review your transfer details to ensure your transfer goes successful. Make sure everything looks good and hit the send button.
The money reaches the recipient’s destination immediately. One challenge with this option is that only few banks abroad accept Skrill transfer or deposit.
There are other ways you might use to send money abroad. Sending money internationally is not limited to the above 5 options.
Here are other ways:
