To send money to Nigeria from the US, most people use a licensed money transfer service such as Remitly, Western Union, WorldRemit, Wise, MoneyGram or Sendwave. A remittance is a cross-border payment where the sender pays in US dollars and the recipient collects naira (NGN) through a bank account, mobile wallet or cash pickup point. The total cost has two parts: a transfer fee and an exchange-rate margin.
​

This page pulls each provider's own published Nigeria terms together, answers the common questions (Zelle, what a dollar amount becomes in naira, how to send), and explains where the hidden part of the cost sits. Every figure links to the provider page it came from.
​

Six widely used services publish dedicated US to Nigeria send pages: Remitly, Western Union, WorldRemit, Wise, MoneyGram and Sendwave. They differ mainly in payout options, fee structure and how openly they disclose the exchange-rate margin. Several advertise zero transfer fees, which shifts the real cost into the rate.
​

The table below uses only what each provider states on its own Nigeria page, fetched in October 2026. Fees shown on these pages are quotes for a sample amount or promotions, so the live quote at checkout is the number that counts.

For a closer look at two of these fee schedules across other corridors, see Remitly Fees and WorldRemit Fees. The Western Union Send Fees by Corridor and MoneyGram Fees pages cover the other two legacy networks, alongside the MoneyGram Nigeria page itself.
​

No. Zelle only moves money between bank accounts held in the United States, so it cannot pay a recipient whose account is at a Nigerian bank. A Nigerian recipient would need a US bank account enrolled with Zelle, which most do not have. For naira delivery, a licensed remittance service is the standard route.
​

Zelle's own FAQ states that "the sender and recipient must have U.S. bank accounts" (Zelle international FAQ). That rule applies to every bank that offers Zelle. Domestic caps are covered in Zelle Limits, and the trade-offs between the two US peer-to-peer apps are in Zelle vs Venmo.
​

The answer changes every minute and differs by provider, so no fixed figure is reliable. What the recipient gets equals the amount sent, minus any fee, multiplied by the provider's exchange rate. That provider rate usually sits below the mid-market rate, and the gap is a cost even when the fee is zero.
​

The mid-market rate is the midpoint between buy and sell prices in the wholesale currency market. Providers set a customer rate around it. Wise says it uses "the mid-market exchange rate" and charges a visible fee instead. Western Union states on its Nigeria page that it "makes money off currency exchange," and Sendwave says its rate "may include a small margin" relative to the market rate.
​

A practical way to compare: enter the same dollar amount into two or three provider calculators at the same moment and compare the naira received figure, not the fee line. Promotions distort first transfers. Remitly, for example, says its promotional rate for new customers "applies to first 500.00 USD sent," and MoneyGram advertises $0 fees on a first transfer. The second transfer may price differently.
​

Create an account with a remittance provider, verify identity, enter the recipient's details, choose a payout method, fund the transfer from a US bank account or card, then share the reference number. Bank deposit needs the recipient's bank and account number. Cash pickup needs their legal name matching their ID.
​

Payout choice drives most of the practical difference. Bank deposit suits recipients with accounts at major banks; Remitly lists Access Bank, GT Bank, Zenith Bank, UBA and First Bank alongside wallets such as Opay, Palmpay and MoniePoint. Cash pickup suits recipients without accounts; Sendwave pays out through Access, Zenith and Fidelity Bank branches, and the recipient receives an SMS voucher code and password to collect.
​

A short decision path, based only on the stated features above:

Funding source matters too. Bank-funded transfers are often cheaper but slower; the ACH timing behind that is explained in Same Day ACH, and the account details involved in What Is a Routing Number. If a transfer sits in limbo on the US side, What Is a Pending Transaction covers what that status means, and MoneyGram Tracking walks through reference-number lookups.
​

Yes, some senders move US dollar stablecoins such as USDT to a recipient who then converts to naira through a local exchange or payment app. It is a different process from a remittance service, with its own fees, conversion step and regulatory considerations on the recipient side.
​

The mechanics of that conversion are covered in USDT to Nigerian Naira. Remitly also lists a crypto wallet among its Nigeria delivery options.
​

Published provider pages give partial pictures. Zero-fee banners hide the rate margin, limits are often described without numbers, and promotional quotes apply only to new customers. Delivery times are estimates, and identity checks on either side can delay any transfer regardless of the provider's stated speed.
​

Three specific gaps showed up in the October 2026 fetches. MoneyGram does not state a limit figure or a delivery time on its Nigeria page. Remitly says limits "vary depending on where you're sending from, whether your identity has been verified, delivery method, and destination country" without listing tiers there. Sendwave shows limits only inside the app. Each of these requires an account or a live quote to pin down.
​

This page does not quote a live naira exchange rate, rank providers, or assess any provider's reliability. It does not cover sending from Nigeria to the US, business payments, tax treatment of remittances, or Nigerian banking rules for the recipient. Fees and features change often, so live quotes override anything here.
​

For the ownership background on one provider listed above, see Who Owns Remitly.
​

Each provider's US to Nigeria page was fetched once in October 2026, and only figures stated on those pages were used. No exchange rates were recorded because they change continuously. Where a page described a fee as promotional or as a sample quote, the table labels it that way.
​

Sources: Remitly Nigeria page, Western Union Nigeria page, WorldRemit Nigeria page, Wise Nigeria page, MoneyGram Nigeria page, Sendwave Nigeria page, Zelle international FAQ.
​