Until the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) restricted the operations of some International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) on December 17, 2020, it was easy for Nigerians to send money from the United Kingdom to Nigeria.
That has now changed, according to a report by Reuters. It’s more tedious to make remittances from the UK to Nigeria.
Why money transfer to Nigeria from the UK matters
As of 2021, the UK’s Office of National Statistics reported that there were approximately 178,000 Nigerians living in the United Kingdom.
Apart from the ‘Japa’ syndrome that skyrocketed the influx of Nigerians to the U.K. in recent times, the existing number is a great market for firms that provide remittance services.
Another report by the World Bank says Nigeria receives between 10 to 15% of all remittances from the U.K
This trend triggered the interest of promising Fintech players in the financial industry to penetrate the Nigeria-UK money transfer market.
Here are the options available for you to send money to your loved ones at home:
Table of Contents
1) Via domiciliary account
For recipients who want to receive Pounds Sterling directly into their bank account, opening a domiciliary account is the best option.
Kindly check our guide on the requirements to open a dom account in Nigeria to receive money in Pounds Sterling, Dollars, and Euro.
Through this method, you can withdraw and sell.
But with the latest scarcity of FX in Nigeria, you will need to get a reliable Bureau De Change that accepts online transfers while you would get the naira equivalent of the Pounds.
It is important to keep an eye on the exchange rate: both the official and official rate. This is what some people described as a way of sending money to the Nigeria blackmarket rate.
Whatever term you know it, you just have to be sure of the integrity of the person you are transferring to.
2) Via TrasferGo
TransferGo is one of the cheapest ways to transfer money from the UK to Nigeria. The beauty of this platform is that it supports naira and USD cash payouts.
As for the naira, it is supported by 22 Nigerian banks while USD cash payouts are supported by five major banks.
It is also easy and faster to transfer money straight from the UK to the receiver’s bank account.
How to send money to Nigeria from the UK using TransferGo
It is simple through this process:
- Choose how much you want to send
- Input the receiver’s details: their full name and bank account details or simply use their phone number
- Select how to pay using a debit or credit card.
- The receiver gets a notification, that’s all.
A couple of Nigerians who have used TransferGo App to send money from the UK to Nigeria say the transfer was fast while the receiver got credit alerts the same day.
3) Via Instarem
The pounds Sterling/Naira exchange rate on Instarem at the time of publication is 540.5055 NGN.
Apart from Nigeria, Instarem also offers money transfer services from the Uk to Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The beauty of this is that you will know the exact amount your recipient will receive when you set up your transfer.
Conclusion:
From the above available methods to send money from the UK to Nigeria, Instarem is faster than TransferGo.
In terms of a better rate exchange rate, receiving Pounds Sterling through a domiciliary account is the best. This is because the receiver is able to negotiate based on the prevailing parallel exchange rate.
Using the domiciliary means comes with some challenges. It may be difficult to get a trusted buyer as a first-timer.
To save yourself, the hassle of searching for buyers, TransferGo and Instarem should be your option to send money to Nigeria from the UK.