How to send money to Nigeria from the US

A cheaper way to send money to Nigeria from the US is to your recipient's Juicyway USD account, rather than by bank wire. A bank wire is sent in dollars, passes through a chain of banks that each take a fee, and your recipient then converts to naira at their bank's rate. Sending to a Juicyway USD account is a cheap US transfer, and your recipient converts to naira in the app at a better rate.

At a glance

A bank wire to Nigeria is sent in dollars and passes through a chain of banks that each take a fee. Your recipient then converts to naira at their Nigerian bank's rate, which is usually below the market rate.
Sending to a Juicyway USD account is a cheap US transfer, and your recipient converts to naira in the app at a better rate.
Look at the exchange rate, not just the fee. Most of the cost is in the rate.
Sending to the USD account takes one to three business days by ACH, or the same day by wire. Converting to naira in the app is immediate.

The main ways to send money to Nigeria

You have two main ways to send from the US:

A bank wire: sent in dollars, with a fee at each bank along the way, and your recipient converts to naira at their bank's rate.
A transfer to a Juicyway USD account: a cheap US transfer, and your recipient converts to naira in the app at a better rate.

Both deliver dollars to Nigeria. The difference is what you pay to send, and the rate your recipient gets when they convert.

Sending through your US bank

To send to Nigeria, you send a wire through your bank. It goes out the same day if you ask before the afternoon cutoff, but your bank charges a fee for it, often $30 to $50.

The wire is sent in dollars, and it passes through a chain of banks on the way, each of which can take a fee before the money arrives. It reaches your recipient as dollars, in a Nigerian dollar account. To get naira, your recipient converts at their Nigerian bank's rate, which is usually below the market rate, so the cost is built into the rate rather than shown as a fee. Between the wire fee, the banks in the middle, and that conversion, your recipient ends up with fewer naira than they would through a USD account.

Sending dollars through Juicyway

With Juicyway, you send dollars, and your recipient converts them to naira.

Your recipient signs up on Juicyway and requests a USD account, which comes with a US account number and routing number. You send dollars to it from your US bank as a normal US transfer, the same way you would pay any US account, rather than as an international wire through a chain of banks. The dollars arrive in their Juicyway USD account, and they convert to naira in the app at a good rate whenever it suits them, rather than converting at their bank's rate.

Juicyway isn't a bank. It's an app for keeping, swapping, and sending money in different currencies, licensed in the US and regulated in every country it works in: the US, the UK, Canada, and Nigeria. Juicyway runs its payments on stablecoins behind the scenes, which keeps the cost down.

What a transfer really costs

What a transfer costs is decided by the fee you can see and the exchange rate.

With a bank wire, you pay $30 to $50 to send, plus a fee at each bank the wire passes through, and your recipient loses more when their Nigerian bank converts the dollars to naira at a rate below the market rate. With Juicyway, you send a cheap US transfer, and your recipient converts to naira in the app at a better rate, so they receive more naira.

Whichever way you send, look at the exchange rate, not the fee. A transfer that says "no fees" can still leave your recipient with fewer naira if its rate is worse. The rate is where most of the cost hides.

How long it takes

A bank wire to Nigeria usually takes one to five business days, depending on the banks it passes through on the way. Sending dollars to a Juicyway USD account is a US transfer: an ACH takes one to three business days, and a wire is same-day. Once the dollars arrive, your recipient converts them to naira in the app straight away, whenever the rate suits them.

Which one should you choose?

If your recipient wants the best naira rate, send to their Juicyway USD account and let them convert when the rate suits them. A bank wire also gets dollars to Nigeria, but you pay more to send it, and your recipient converts at a less favorable rate. Sending to a USD account gives your recipient more naira and more control over the rate.

What you need to send

To send from the US, you need a US bank account and your recipient's Juicyway USD account number and routing number.

Your recipient gets those details by signing up on Juicyway and requesting a USD account. Dollars are added to a Juicyway account by bank transfer or by converting another currency in the app.

Key terms

Bank transfer (ACH): A standard, low-cost transfer between US bank accounts. It takes one to three business days.
Wire: A bank transfer that goes out the same day but costs more than ACH. An international wire also passes through other banks on the way.
Domiciliary account: A Nigerian bank account that keeps dollars. A bank wire from the US arrives here as dollars; converting to naira happens at the bank's rate.
USD account: A US dollar account you open in the Juicyway app. It comes with a US account number and routing number, so anyone in the US can send dollars to it.
Exchange rate: How much naira you get for each dollar. Providers often give you a rate below the market one and keep the difference.
Stablecoin: A digital version of a currency, like the US dollar, that stays at a steady value. Juicyway uses stablecoins behind the scenes to move money fast and cheaply. You never touch them yourself.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to send money to Nigeria online? Yes, as long as you use a licensed provider. Juicyway is regulated in the US and in the other countries it works in, and shows the rate before your recipient converts.

What is the cheapest way to send money to Nigeria from the US? Send to a Juicyway USD account rather than by bank wire. A bank wire costs more to send, and your recipient converts at their bank's rate. With Juicyway, they convert in the app at a better rate, so they receive more naira.

How fast can I send money to Nigeria? A US bank transfer to the USD account takes one to three business days, or the same day by wire. Converting dollars to naira in the Juicyway app is immediate.

Does my recipient need a Juicyway account? Yes. They sign up on Juicyway and request a USD account to receive your dollars, then convert to naira in the app.