Send money to Nigeria — what actually arrives.

What arrives in Nigeria

Nobody beats the ceiling. Every provider lands under it; the only question is how far under. The World Bank measured the average total cost of sending $200 to Sub-Saharan Africa at 8.46% — fee plus rate margin combined (Remittance Prices Worldwide, Q3 2025) — the most expensive receiving region on earth. On a $200 send at that average, roughly $17 disappears before the money moves.

How to read this table — every assumption on the table. Bank & wire column: modeled at the World Bank's measured Sub-Saharan Africa average total cost of 8.46% (fee + exchange-rate margin combined, Q3 2025, measured on a $200 send; applied here at all three amounts). It is a measuring stick, not a quote — many bank wires cost more than the average, some cost less. Money apps column: the apps take a fee and/or a margin off the official rate, priced live per send, so no honest fixed number exists — the ceiling is the most that can arrive; compare the exact arrival figure on the app's screen, before you pay, against it. Cash pickup column: the same modeled channel cost, plus the 1% US federal excise tax on cash-funded remittances (in force since January 1, 2026) taken off the amount, because you paid in physical cash. Fund the same send from a bank account or card and the tax does not apply. Tables built Oct 22, 2026.

The comparison set — checked Oct 22, 2026

Wise: the famous name is, today, not an option for this corridor. Wise's own US pages for sending to Nigeria say USD→NGN transfers are “not quite there yet” — wishlist only (checked Oct 22, 2026). If that changes, this page changes.

Remitly & WorldRemit: Remitly and WorldRemit both run the US→Nigeria corridor. Their fees and rates are priced live per send — the arrival figure on the provider's own screen before you confirm is the only final word. We verified no fixed corridor fee from their public pages today, so we print none.

Fees and rates at every provider change daily, and differ by how you pay (bank, debit, credit) and how they receive (a Nigerian bank account). The figure on the provider's screen before you confirm is the final word — measure it against the ceiling in the table above. The gap between the two numbers is your true cost, whatever the poster says the fee is.

The street rate is tracked, not printed

Lagos runs an official rate and a street rate, and they are not the same number. We track the street (parallel) rate on our own data shelves — Bybit P2P-derived, timestamped, pulled fresh per call — because a street rate printed on a webpage goes stale before the page finishes loading. We do not print one here.

The street spread is tracked live on the Faida shelves — Ni Biashara's own data products at agents.nibiashara.biz — official and street rates with their timestamps, the same numbers our morning spread post runs on.

Three rules that keep the corridor out of your pocket

From HESABU — the Network's money-math lane. The system, not vibes:

1. Price the whole corridor, not the fee. Your real cost is the fee plus the gap between the provider's rate and the official rate. A “zero fee” send at a weak rate can cost more than a send with a fee at the real rate. Always compare what arrives, in NGN, against the ceiling — never compare fees.
2. Never fund a send with cash. Since January 1, 2026, remittances funded in physical cash carry a 1% US federal excise tax. The same send funded from a bank account or card is exempt. Cash costs you 1% to the government before any provider takes a cut — walk the money into your bank first.
3. Send on your schedule, not the emergency's. Stage the send — a reserve ready at home, sent deliberately on a date you chose, on the cheapest rail you trust. The naira moves daily. A staged send lets you choose your day; an emergency send takes whatever day it lands on — usually the worst one.