Cheapest way to send money to Nigeria from the UK: Provider comparison

Need to send money to a family member in Nigeria? Perhaps you have a home or business there, or have another connection to the country.

Whatever your situation, you’ll need to find the best and cheapest way to send money to Nigeria from the UK. We’re here to help, with a handy roundup of the most cost-effective options.

We’ll compare them below, including fees, exchange rates and anything else you need to know.

What’s the cheapest way to send money to Nigeria from the UK?

If you have an overseas payment to make, you might be tempted to use your bank. However, this may not be the cheapest way to do it. Fees per transfer can be high and the mark-up applied to the exchange rate can make it even more expensive.

This is why you may want to use a specialist online money transfer service, where fees are typically lower and you can see the exchange rate upfront. It’s also more convenient, as everything can be set up and tracked online.

8 of the cheapest ways to send money to Nigeria from the UK

Now, let’s take a look at some of the best apps and providers for sending money to Nigeria.

So you can see which may be cheapest for your transfer, below is a quick cost comparison, for sending £1,000 to Nigeria from the UK.

Here’s how much it’ll cost with each of the providers and apps on our list, which we’ll look at in more detail below. It’s always worth noting that for some providers in the list, customer promotional fees/rates apply for new customers only:

** new customer promotional fees/rates apply
Note: all fees and rates listed were correct as of 7 Nov 2025

Wise

Wise is a money services provider, which works a little differently to other providers. By keeping local bank accounts in countries around the world, Wise cuts out expensive international fees that come with sending money across borders using SWIFT (the network that banks and other providers use).

Wise offers low, transparent fees*, which you can see upfront. Crucially, it uses the mid-market exchange rate, which means that no margin or mark-up is added on top. This can make a huge difference to the overall cost of your transfer to Nigeria.

Western Union

Western Union is an established international money transfer specialist based in the US, although it operates worldwide.

All fees and rates are available upfront, and you’ll pay a small fee to send money to Nigeria. The provider often has new customer offers, so you may get your first transfer free.⁸

Exchange rates may include a margin, so they aren’t necessarily the best you can get.

However, WU does offer the option of cash pickup (as well as bank deposit) from a local agent in Nigeria, a collection method that not many other providers offer.

MoneyGram

MoneyGram is one of the world’s largest money transfer providers, aside from Western Union.

It offers low, transparent fees, including introductory offers for new customers. In our example above, new customers get a special introductory exchange rate when sending money to Nigeria.²

This can make the transfer cheaper, but you can also see how much it’d cost without the special rate applied. This is useful to know if you need to send more than one transfer - or make regular transfers - to Nigeria, as it may not end up being the cheapest option.

Remitly

The US-based online money transfer service Remitly offers fast, convenient online payments worldwide, including from the UK to Nigeria.

Like MoneyGram, it offers a special exchange rate for your first transfer, which applies to the first £250 of it. The rest of the transfer is subject to the standard exchange rate, which does include a margin.³

The good news though is that Remitly charges no transfer fees for sending money to Nigeria, now or for future payments.

Sendwave

Money transfer app Sendwave specialises in money transfers to Africa and Asia, making it ideal for a UK-to-Nigeria transfer.

For our example transfer, Sendwave didn’t charge a transfer fee and the exchange rate was available upfront. However, this rate could definitely be beaten by some other providers.

TransferGo

TransferGo is a digital money transfer app which specialises in making it easier, cheaper and faster for migrants to send money home. Fees and rates are available upfront, and it’s very easy to see how much you’ll pay before hitting ‘send’.

Like other providers, TransferGo has introductory offers. At the time of writing, it’s offering your first 2 transfers for free, and fees will apply after that.⁵

WorldRemit

Money transfer provider WorldRemit offers fast, secure online transfers all over the world. There was no fee for our example transfer between the UK and Nigeria, but this was for a bank deposit.

The provider also offers some other methods for delivery, such as Airtime Top Up - and for these, you’ll need to download the WorldRemit app to get a quote for these.

Exchange rates with WorldRemit are beatable but transparent, so it’s easy to compare options.

Instarem

Instarem is a digital money transfer app which lets you send money to many countries worldwide, including Nigeria.

It offers new customer offers, which for our example transfer meant no fees and a special exchange rate⁷ - although this was still one of the least favourable rates on our list. All fees and rates are available upfront, so you can check before sending.

Ways to save money on UK to Nigeria transfers

Here are some tips to help you save money when sending money to Nigeria from the UK:

• Compare the exchange rate as well as the upfront transfer fee
• Set an exchange rate alert - this can tell you when the rate is best to send your transfer. For instance with Wise you can set up a rate alert so you can make your transfer when the exchange rate hits your requirements
• Plan ahead - some providers charge extra fees for ‘express payments’, which you may have to pay if your transfer is urgent and you’ve left it until the last minute.

It’s always best to shop around and compare the final amount for your transfers and though many providers have introductory offers, if you are sending regularly to Nigeria, you may want to consider one that provides both low fees and low exchange rates*.

➡️ Learn more about the Wise account

Sources used:

1. Wise - Wise vs Western Union for money transfer comparison
2. MoneyGram - MoneyGram fees and rates
3. Remitly - Remitly fees and rates
4. Sendwave - Sendwave fees and rates
5. TransferGo - TransferGo fees and rates
6. WorldRemit - WorldRemit fees and rates
7. Instarem - Instarem fees and rates
8. Western Union - Western Union fees and rates

Sources last checked 07-Nov-2025