Five things to check before you make an international transfer

In short

• You can send dollars, pounds, euros, and Canadian dollars from your Juicyway naira balance, and the app converts your naira for you when you send.
• What a transfer costs you depends on the transfer fee and the exchange rate, so check the amount your recipient will receive before you confirm.
• A US bank transfer needs a routing number, a UK bank transfer needs a sort code, and many other international payments need a SWIFT/BIC or an IBAN.
• How long a transfer takes depends on the payment route and any checks the payment needs, so pay early when a payment is due on a set date.
• Under Nigeria's Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, Nigeria's financial authorities must receive a report within one day of any transfer of more than $10,000 to or from another country.

1. Check which currency your recipient needs

Start by finding out which currency your recipient expects to receive. That's the currency you'll pay in.

Paying in another currency usually means converting naira. Some providers convert it for you when you send, so you don't have to convert it yourself first. When you already have the currency in an account, you can send from that account.

On Juicyway, you can pay in dollars, pounds, euros, and Canadian dollars to bank accounts that accept them. You request an account in the currency your recipient needs, then send from your naira balance, and the app converts your naira for you. You need a USD account before you can request a pound or euro account, but not before you request a Canadian dollar account.

For more detail, read our guides on sending money from Nigeria to the US and to the UK.

2. Check the exchange rate and the full cost

The transfer fee is what a provider charges to process the payment. The exchange rate is the value of one currency in another. When you convert naira, you can lose as much on the exchange rate as on the fee.

On some payment routes, your provider sends the payment through an intermediary bank, which passes it on to your recipient's bank. The intermediary bank and your recipient's bank can each charge a fee too.

Before you confirm, check:

• Exchange rate: How much of the destination currency you get for your naira.
• Transfer fee: What the provider charges to process the payment.
• Other charges: Any fee an intermediary bank or the receiving bank may charge.
• Amount received: How much your recipient gets after every charge.

Your Juicyway app shows you the exchange rate and the amount your recipient gets before you confirm a transfer.

3. Get your recipient's account details

The details you need depend on the country you're paying into.

• US bank account: Your recipient's name, account number, and routing number, the nine-digit code that identifies a US bank.
• UK bank account: Your recipient's name, account number, and sort code, the six-digit code that identifies a UK bank and branch.
• Other countries: Many international payments need a SWIFT/BIC, a code that identifies the bank. Some also need an IBAN, an account number in a standard international format.

Your provider may also ask for your recipient's address or the purpose of the payment.

Before you confirm, check:

• Name: The name matches the name on your recipient's account.
• Numbers and codes: The account number and bank codes are correct.
• Currency: The account accepts the currency you're sending.
• Reference: You've added any payment reference or purpose your recipient asked for.

Before you pay a business for the first time, confirm its account details directly. Do the same when a business sends you new account details.

A payment made with wrong or missing details can fail or be delayed, and it can take time to get the money back.

4. Find out how long the transfer will take

Your recipient may not have the money as soon as it's taken from your account. How long a transfer takes depends on the payment route, the countries involved, when the provider processes payments, and any checks the payment needs. Some transfers take longer over weekends and public holidays.

Before you send, find out:

• Processing: When the provider will process the payment.
• Arrival: When the money should arrive in your recipient's account.
• Holidays: Whether weekends or public holidays will delay it.
• Checks: Whether verification or a bank check could delay it.
• Late payments: What to do when the money hasn't arrived by the expected time.

Pay school fees, rent, supplier invoices, and anything else with a deadline early enough to allow for a delay, instead of relying on the fastest time a provider advertises.

Pounds you send from your Juicyway GBP account to a UK bank account go through Faster Payments, the UK's system for fast bank transfers. The time it takes still depends on any checks the payment needs.

5. Check your transfer limits and requirements

Banks and payment providers set limits on how much you can send. They may also ask you to verify your identity or explain a payment. What they ask for depends on the amount, where you're sending it, what the payment is for, and whether your account is verified. Each provider sets its own limits and asks for its own documents.

A business payment may need supporting documents, and some features are available only after you complete verification.

Before a large payment, check:

• Limits: Your minimum and maximum transfer amounts.
• Verification: Whether you've completed verification for this payment.
• Documents: Whether you need documents or a stated purpose for the payment.
• Recipient's bank: Whether the receiving bank asks for anything extra.

You can see your daily and monthly limits in your Juicyway app.

Paying abroad from your Juicyway app

Juicyway lets you make international transfers from Nigeria in dollars, pounds, euros, and Canadian dollars. You fund your naira balance with a transfer from any Nigerian bank account, request an account in the currency your recipient needs, and send from your naira balance. The app converts your naira for you, and you see the exchange rate and the amount your recipient gets before you confirm.

You can receive money in those currencies too. Your Juicyway USD account is a US account with an account number and a routing number, so clients, employers, and platforms can pay you in dollars. Juicyway doesn't charge a fee when dollars come into your USD account, and you can convert them to naira whenever you choose.

Open a Juicyway account

Key terms

• Exchange rate: The value of one currency in another.
• Transfer fee: What a provider charges to process a payment.
• Intermediary bank: A bank that passes a payment between the sending provider and the receiving bank.
• SWIFT/BIC: A code that identifies a bank in many international payments.
• IBAN: An account number in a standard international format.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between a SWIFT/BIC and an IBAN?

A SWIFT/BIC identifies the bank, and an IBAN identifies the account at that bank. Some international payments need both.

Can I send dollars to any US bank account?

Yes. From your Juicyway USD account, you can send dollars to any US bank account.

Can someone outside the US pay into my Juicyway USD account?

Yes. Clients, employers, and platforms outside the US can pay into your Juicyway USD account.

What happens when I send more than $10,000?

Under Nigeria's Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission must receive a written report within one day of any transfer of more than $10,000, or the same value in another currency, to or from another country. This is general information, not legal advice.