Send Money from UK to Nigeria — Best GBP/NGN Rates

Your recipient in Nigeria can receive NGN in several ways. The fastest method depends on whether they have a bank account, a mobile wallet, or need cash:

• Bank Account Deposit — Direct credit to GTBank, Access, First Bank, UBA, Zenith and 20+ other Nigerian banks. NIBSS Instant Payment supports near-instant credit.
• Mobile Money — OPay, PalmPay and Kuda are growing rapidly in Nigeria. Many MTOs support direct wallet credit alongside traditional bank transfer.
• Cash Pickup — Western Union, MoneyGram and RIA have very wide networks. CBN has also designated specific banks as IMTO settlement partners for cash payouts.

Confirm the delivery method with your recipient before you send. Most providers let you choose the method during checkout, but the fee and speed can vary — bank transfers are typically cheapest, cash pickup is typically fastest.

There is no single 'best' provider — the right choice depends on whether you prioritise the recipient amount, the fee, the speed, or the institution type.

• If you want the most for your money: Wise delivered the highest recipient amount in our most recent live snapshot.
• If you only care about the lowest fee: Western Union has the cheapest upfront fee at GBP 2.99, though check the recipient amount before assuming it's the best deal.
• If you need the money to arrive in minutes: Western Union typically clears in minutes.

Recommendations refresh with the live data above. The provider that wins today may not win tomorrow — always check the live table immediately before sending.

Sending money out of United Kingdom is generally not taxed for the sender, but there are reporting and compliance rules worth knowing — especially for larger amounts. The most relevant rules:

• FCA Regulation — All money transfer businesses in the UK must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an authorised payment institution or registered as a small payment institution.
• HMRC Reporting — Sending money abroad for personal reasons is generally not taxable. However, sending money from business accounts may have VAT or corporation tax implications.

For a complete view of the rules that apply to senders in United Kingdom, see our United Kingdom guide. For your specific situation, consult a tax professional.

Nigeria's rules around inbound foreign currency are usually permissive for personal remittance, but it's worth knowing the framework:

• CBN IMTO licensing — International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) operating in Nigeria must be licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Only licensed IMTOs can credit Naira accounts directly.
• Naira-only payouts — All inbound personal remittances must be paid out in Nigerian Naira at the prevailing CBN rate. Foreign currency payouts are restricted to specific account types.
• Multiple parallel rates — Nigeria has historically had a gap between the official and parallel-market exchange rates. Recent reforms have closed much of this — but it's still worth checking the current effective rate before sending.

In the GBP to NGN corridor right now, 2 providers are competing for your transfer — and the gap between the best and worst deal is ₦46,200 on a £1,000 send. Wise delivers ₦18,35,848 while Western Union delivers only ₦17,89,648. That difference comes almost entirely from rate margin, not the headline fee.

The mid-market rate — the one banks use among themselves — is currently 1 GBP = 1847.06 NGN. At that rate, £1,000 would convert to exactly ₦18,47,060. Wise's rate of 1847.06 means a margin of roughly 0.00%, while Western Union's rate of 1795.02 embeds a 2.82% margin. Even small-sounding percentages add up: on a £5,000 transfer, that worst-case margin costs you ₦2,31,000 compared to the best option.

Here is an insight specific to this corridor: the provider with the lowest upfront fee (Western Union at GBP 2.99) is not the same as the provider that delivers the most NGN (Wise). That is because Western Union recovers its cost through the exchange rate. This is exactly why fee-only comparisons mislead — the "Recipient gets" column in the table above is the only number that captures both the fee and the rate margin in a single figure.