WorldRemit expands Nigerian remittance services to include naira payouts

WorldRemit, an international money transfer platform, has added the naira, Nigeria's local currency, as a payout option for its customers in Nigeria. This means that anyone sending money into Nigeria can now choose to have the recipient receive the funds in naira rather than in a foreign currency.

The details 

• Nigerian recipients of international money transfers can now receive their funds in naira, following a directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). 
• The new policy, which was announced on July 10 allows IMTOs to pay their Nigerian recipients in naira through cash pick-up, bank transfer, or airtime top-up.
• Prior to the launch of the new feature, it was only possible to transfer money to Nigeria in foreign currencies. 

Key quote 

• CEO of Zepz, WorldRemit’s parent company, spoke about the development: 

“Enabling Naira currency for this expansive [Nigerian] community is a necessary and obvious choice to ensure Nigerians around the world are able to access reliable, safe methods of money movement.” 

Before now 

• In a 2020 circular, the CBN banned all IMTOs active in Nigeria from paying Nigerian recipients in naira. According to the bank, the move was aimed at reining in more foreign currency inflows and deepening the exchange market. 
• In May, the CBN released a new directive as part of the new government’s ongoing reforms in Nigeria’s monetary policy. It stated that diaspora remittances into Nigeria can now be paid in naira, repealing its 2020 directive. 
• The apex bank also announced that remittances can also be received with Nigeria’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the eNaira as a way of driving adoption for the digital currency, per a Mariblock report.