USD to NGN: funding and paying out in Nigeria
US providers fund the corridor in dollars over Fedwire, ACH or the instant rails, and a CBN-licensed IMTO sells those dollars in the NFEM and pays beneficiaries in naira only, to a bank account (required above US$200), a PSB wallet or as cash, with NIP delivering bank payouts 24/7. The main prefunding constraint is that IMTOs cannot buy foreign exchange in Nigeria for settlement, so naira payout capacity depends on dollars sent ahead and sold through an Authorised Dealer Bank, with Fedwire taking customer transfers until 6:45 p.m. ET on US business days only.
| Origin | United States (USD) |
| Destination | Nigeria (NGN) |
| Instant rails in Nigeria | NIP (NIBSS Instant Payment) |
| Holiday calendar | Nigeria bank holidays 2026 and 2027 |
The market
- Nigeria received US$22.79 billion in personal remittances in 2025, up from US$22.13 billion in 2024 (World Bank data, last updated 8 October 2026). source
- The CBN's 2024 balance of payments report put inflows through IMTOs at US$4.73 billion, up 43.5% from US$3.30 billion in 2023. source
- CBN data published by Nigeria's statistics bureau attributes US$2.19 billion of 2021 inward personal transfers to the United States as country of origin, second to the United Kingdom. The table gives each country the same share of the total in every year from 2016 to 2021 (United States 11.4%). source
- Sending US$200 from the United States to Nigeria cost 2.72% on average in Q3 2025 (average fee US$4.47, exchange rate margin 0.48%), with bank account and cash payout options. source
- Personal remittances paid from the United States totalled US$106.53 billion in 2025 (World Bank data). source
- The CBN's licensed IMTO list includes US-addressed operators such as Afriex Inc (Sugar Land, Texas), Chime Inc (Sendwave, New York), MoneyGram (Minneapolis), IDT Payment Services (Newark) and Saana Capital LLC (New Jersey). source
How recipients get paid
| Method | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| bank account | All inbound IMTO transfers are paid in naira. Amounts above the equivalent of US$200 must go to a bank account, and where the beneficiary banks elsewhere the IMTO's agent bank credits that other bank. | source |
| cash pickup | Cash payouts in naira are allowed up to the equivalent of US$200, against an acceptable means of identification. | source |
| mobile wallet | Wallets at payment service banks receive international transfers: MTN's MoMo PSB customers receive funds instantly from markets including the USA, UK and Canada through Thunes (November 2025). | source |
Payout rails in Nigeria
| Rail | Operator | Hours | Runs on holidays | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NIP (NIBSS Instant Payment) | Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) | 24 hours a day, 7 days a week | yes | source |
| CBN RTGS | Central Bank of Nigeria | Business days only. Bank cut-offs apply: via FCMB, payments initiated before 12:00 settle the same day and later ones the next working day. | no | source |
Funding from United States
| Rail | Operator | Hours and cut-offs | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fedwire Funds Service | Federal Reserve Banks | Business day opens 9:00 p.m. ET on the preceding calendar day and closes 7:00 p.m. ET. Customer transfer cut-off 6:45 p.m. ET. Closed Saturdays, Sundays and Federal Reserve holidays. | source |
| FedACH (including Same Day ACH) | Federal Reserve Banks | Same Day ACH transmission deadlines 10:30 a.m., 2:45 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. ET, settling at 1:00, 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. ET. No processing on Federal Reserve holidays. | source |
| FedNow Service | Federal Reserve Banks | 24/7/365 between participating institutions. | source |
| RTP network | The Clearing House | 24/7/365 between participating institutions. | source |
FX and conversion
- The CBN unified the official FX market in 2023 under a willing buyer, willing seller model, collapsing the old segments into the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM). source
- Interbank NFEM pricing runs on the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) on Bloomberg BMatch, under CBN guidelines of 25 November 2024. EFEMS covers USD/NGN spot only, with a US$100,000 minimum trade and US$50,000 increments. source
- All NFEM transactions must be concluded with an Authorised Dealer. Customer trades outside EFEMS are priced off the prevailing NFEM rate, and negotiating rates outside the market is prohibited. source
- IMTOs pay beneficiaries at the prevailing NFEM rate on the day the transfer is received. source
Who pays out in Nigeria
| Provider | What they offer here | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Thunes | Thunes says MoMo PSB wallet holders in Nigeria receive international funds instantly through its Direct Global Network, from markets including the USA, UK and Canada. | source |
| TerraPay | TerraPay's network page lists Nigeria (NGN) with both wallet payout and bank payout available. | source |
| MoMo PSB (MTN) | MoMo PSB says its inbound international transfers let customers receive money directly in their wallets, delivered with partners MFS Africa and Saana Capital LLC. | source |
Stablecoin routes
| Provider | Route | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow Card | Yellow Card's stablecoin payments API sends NGN to Nigerian bank accounts by instant bank transfer. | source |
| Yellow Card (regulatory status) | Yellow Card Financial Nigeria Limited was admitted on 14 August 2026 to the SEC Nigeria Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme on a conditional approval-in-principle basis, which is not a final licence. Yellow Card Financial Inc. is registered with FinCEN as a money services business. | source |
Prefunding this corridor
- IMTOs are barred from buying foreign exchange in Nigeria's domestic market for settlement, and must file weekly returns of their FX sales in the NFEM. source
- Customer funds meant for remittance must sit in a designated account with the IMTO's agent Authorised Dealer Bank, separate from all its other accounts. source
- NIP runs 24/7, so instant bank payouts continue at weekends and on holidays, while CBN RTGS runs on business days only. source
- Federal Reserve holidays close Fedwire and FedACH, so USD funding of foreign payout accounts by wire stops on those days. source
- Since 1 January 2026 a 1% federal excise tax applies to remittances from the United States when the sender pays in cash, by money order, cashier's check or a similar physical instrument. Transfers funded from an account at a US financial institution or with a US-issued debit or credit card are exempt under the proposed regulations. Providers collect the tax, make semimonthly deposits and file quarterly returns. source
Size the balance you hold in Nigeria for payouts during your top-up lead time plus local closures. Check this corridor's runway and the Nigeria holiday calendar.
Regulators
- Central Bank of Nigeria (Trade and Exchange Department): Licenses IMTOs under the January 2024 guidelines: inbound transfers only, minimum share capital of US$1 million (or naira equivalent), a N10 million application fee and N10 million annual renewal. Banks are prohibited from operating IMTO services but can act as agents, and the guidelines extend that prohibition to financial technology companies without defining the term. source
- Central Bank of Nigeria (circular of 24 March 2026): Requires every IMTO to open designated naira settlement accounts with Authorised Dealer Banks and to run all beneficiary payments and settlements through them. IMTOs can hold several such accounts with different banks. source
- Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria: Registers and regulates virtual and digital asset exchanges under the Investments and Securities Act, 2025. source
- FinCEN (origin side): Each money services business must register with the US Treasury on FinCEN Form 107 within 180 days of being established and renew every two years. source
- State money transmitter regulators (origin side): Money transmission is licensed state by state. At the end of 2024, 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico managed MSB licences on NMLS, and 599 companies held 8,858 money transmitter licences. source
Seeing this corridor in Polynopsis
Polynopsis shows the balance at each Nigeria payout partner, bank and wallet next to your USD funding accounts and the transfers in flight between them, and warns before the USD to NGN corridor runs dry.
Frequently asked questions
Can an IMTO pay a Nigerian beneficiary in dollars?
No. Under the CBN's January 2024 guidelines all inbound transfers are paid in naira, at the prevailing NFEM rate on the day the transfer is received.
When does USD funding stop moving?
Fedwire takes customer transfers until 6:45 p.m. ET and is closed on weekends and Federal Reserve holidays, so dollar top-ups land on US business days only, while NIP keeps paying out in Nigeria 24/7.
Can an IMTO buy foreign exchange in Nigeria to settle transfers?
No. The guidelines bar IMTOs from buying foreign exchange in the domestic market for settlement; customer funds sit in a designated account with the agent Authorised Dealer Bank.
Does the new US remittance tax affect bank-funded transfers?
No. The 1% federal excise tax in force since 1 January 2026 applies when the sender pays in cash, by money order, cashier's check or a similar physical instrument. Under the proposed regulations, transfers funded from an account at a US bank or credit union, or with a US-issued debit or credit card, are exempt.
Other corridors
Sources
- Personal remittances, received (current US$): Nigeria · World Bank
- Personal remittances hit $20.93bn in 2024: CBN · Punch
- Demographic Statistics Bulletin 2022, Table 1: inward personal transfers by country of origin (CBN data) · National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria
- Remittance Prices Worldwide: United States to Nigeria · World Bank
- Personal remittances, paid (current US$): United States · World Bank
- International Money Transfer Operators (licensed list) · Central Bank of Nigeria
- Reviewed Guidelines of International Money Transfer Services in Nigeria (31 January 2024) · Central Bank of Nigeria
- Thunes and MoMo PSB bring real-time cross-border payments to millions of Nigerians · Thunes
- NIBSS Instant Payments (NIP): the game changer · NIBSS
- Nigeria payment system overview · Verto
- Fedwire Funds Service and National Settlement Service operating hours · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- FedACH processing schedule · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- About the FedNow Service · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- RTP network · The Clearing House
- Foreign Exchange Market in Nigeria · Central Bank of Nigeria
- Reforms and Initiatives: key milestones · Central Bank of Nigeria
- Revised Guidelines for the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), 29 November 2024 · Central Bank of Nigeria
- Investments and Securities Act, 2025 · Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria
- Money Services Business (MSB) registration · Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
- 2024 NMLS Money Services Businesses Report · Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS)
- TerraPay network coverage · TerraPay
- Agent banking: receive and make payments to your Nigerian customers · Onafriq
- International Transfers on MoMo PSB · MTN MoMo
- Yellow Card API: Africa coverage (receives and sends) · Yellow Card
- Licenses and registrations · Yellow Card
- Holiday schedules · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- Treasury, IRS issue proposed regulations on the new remittance transfer tax (IR-2026-48) · Internal Revenue Service
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.