Best Ways to Send Money to Africa

‍

Sending money home to Nigeria can be a time-consuming and expensive process. Wire transfers from banks charge a sending and receiving fee and don’t reach their destination quickly. Money sending apps like Cash App and Venmo are nice; however, they don’t ofter international money transfer services.

Thankfully some fin-tech providers are rattling the cage and coming up with innovative ways to remit money internationally. There are now many apps that can send your money faster – and at a cheaper rate.

Here’s our pick of the best money transfer apps that’ll let you transfer money from a debit card to a bank or directly from a bank.

Afriex

Unlike most banks and other app providers, Afriex App offers the Lowest Exchange Rates on all its international money transfers to Africa, and prides itself on having Zero Service Fees!

• Send money easily via the Free App
• Instant Money Transfers- 90% of all Afriex transactions reflect in your account in under one minute
• Get the Lowest Exchange Rates with Zero Transfer Fees
• With a Free Multi-Currency wallet, you also get to hold  three different currencies virtually, with more being added – you can receive money in USD, NGN, and BCT
• Send money faster to family and friends using your Afriex $username- making it even easier to send money around the world.

Download the Afriex App Today!

Watch a step-by-step guide on how to transfer money to Africa with the Afriex App.

‍

Transferwise

Transferwise has been widely and long used by people transferring money abroad to Europe. With a slightly longer transfer time of one to three days. Transferwise is a good looking app that comes with the tradeoff of extended time.

• You can only send money directly to a bank account
• Transfers usually take from 2-24 hours to send your money
• Transferwise advertises itself to give you the official exchange rate, but they also charge you a fee
• The exchange rate is only guaranteed for 43hours.

‍

Sendwave

Sendwave offers mid-level rates when sending money to Africa and fast delivery; their biggest strength is simplicity.

• Though many of these apps are simple to use, Sendwave is by far the simplest
• Sendwave has no fees, however, its has one of the higher exchange rates at 374 NRN = 1USD
• With simplicity comes fewer options- Sendwave does not offer a USD bank account, debit card.

‍

Boss Revolution

Boss Revolution is a jack of all trades providing many different services along with international money transfer.

• With Boss Revolution, you can transfer money, airtime top-ups, phone calls, bill pay and more
• It’s actually two apps in one-Boss Revolution and Boss Money
• Boss Revolution offering the majority of their different features
• While, Boss Money is more focused on international money transfer to Nigeria
• The app is safe, but not very easy to use and no instant money transfers.

‍

Majority

Majority combines good looks with many features like Boss Revolution, but they have a different business model which some people like and others don’t.

• Majority charges their users $5 a month to send money
• Their rates are also pretty average, not any better than the other apps.
• So why would anyone pay $5 a month when they can send money on Afriex for free. We are not sure; maybe it’s the sleek design.

Western Union

The oldest company on the list, Western Union, actually started as a Telegram company over 150 years ago. Western Union has caught up with modern technology and has decided to release its own money transfer app.

• What makes them great is that they allow you to pick up cash. This can be useful if you are sending money to people in rural areas that don’t have a bank account or a smartphone.
• The only problem is sending money overseas with Western Union can be expensive.
• Western Union can be 25-50% more expensive than others on the list like Afriex, for example.
• Western Union money transfer services are not instant; their service time is 0-5 business days.

MoneyGram

MoneyGram is the Lyft, to Western Union's Uber. It's the second-largest money transfer provider in the world, and they offer the same services and nearly the same price but are not as popular with customers.

• MoneyGram allows you to pay bills via their mobile app
• Your recipient can pick up cash at an agent location, or get the money deposited directly
• Different transaction fees depending on how much you are sending, and the payment method

World Remit

World Remit initially came on the scene focused on eastern African countries; they have since diversified to a lot more countries.

• Receive money by either bank transfer, mobile top-ups or cash pick up
• World Remit provides a fast transfer time-”90% of our bank transfers to Nigeria arrive in less than 10 minutes!”
• World Remit provides a fast transfer time. However, it comes at a high exchange rate and transfer fee starting at $1.99 and increasing with your transfer amount
• They’ve also diversified to airtime

‍

Things to consider when sending money overseas with an App..

Whichever provider you go for, you have to make sure it’s right for you. To avoid getting ripped off make sure the money transfer app of your choice is competitive in the following categories:

Cost

With hidden fees and high exchange rates, transferring money to Africa can be costly. It makes good sense to go with an App that offers you the cheapest rates so that your money's highest possible amount makes it to your family.

When considering the cost, make sure to not only look at fixed fees. Be sure also to consider the exchange rate. Many providers advertise zero fees but charge high exchange rates.

User Friendliness

Transferring money via an app is far easier and quicker than walking down to your local Western Union agent to make a transfer. But apps have different user-friendly levels, so make sure you're able to work and comprehend the App you chose comfortably.

Customer Support

Lastly, check you're able to contact them in case an issue arises. You should be able to trust this company is responsible with your money, meaning someone should be there to answer any questions you might have. So make sure you're able to get in touch with them.

‍

‍

‍