Payment corridor · Phase 1

UK to Nigeria.
Fast, compliant, reliable.

The UK is one of the largest source markets for remittances and B2B payments into Nigeria — NectPay's anchor corridor. One API reaches GTBank, Stanbic IBTC, USDC rails, and agent networks with embedded CBN-compliant KYC/AML built in.

🇬🇧🇳🇬
Diaspora remittances
$21B
Annual into Nigeria (2024)
Best-rail settlement
~8s
USDC rail · minutes via bank
NectPay total cost
<2%
vs 8.5% market average
Mid-market rate
1,620
NGN per USD (indicative)

Available payment rails

NectPay automatically routes each transaction through the highest-scoring rail based on fee, speed, and reliability — then falls back automatically if the first choice fails.

USDC Settlement Rail Top pick

Stablecoin settlement — fastest available rail for NGN payouts, ideal for thin-liquidity corridors and large transfers. Recipient receives NGN at point of off-ramp.

25 bps
~8 seconds
🏦

GTBank Nigeria (NIP)

Direct NIP interbank transfer to GTBank accounts. Widely used by Nigerian businesses for supplier and payroll payments.

35 bps + ₦50 flat
~45 seconds
🏦

Stanbic IBTC Nigeria

NIP interbank transfer via Stanbic IBTC — automatic fallback rail, preferred for high-value business transfers with CBN reporting requirements.

38 bps + ₦50 flat
~50 seconds
🏪

West Africa Agent Network

Cash-out at agent locations across Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and Côte d'Ivoire. Used for last-mile delivery where bank/wallet access is limited.

90 bps
~3 minutes

Compliance requirements

Nigeria's Central Bank (CBN) requires specific documentation for inbound transfers. NectPay handles these checks inline — before any rail is contacted, so your payment never gets held mid-transfer.

What NectPay checks for every UK → Nigeria payout

  • Recipient ID number (BVN or NIN) — required by CBN for all inbound transfers. NectPay validates format and flags missing values at submission, not mid-transit.
  • Purpose code — required for CBN reporting (e.g. supplier_payment, family_remittance, payroll). API accepts the purpose code field and will reject uncoded submissions above the threshold.
  • Sanctions screening — recipient name and account screened against CBN and OFAC watchlists. Potential matches flagged for manual review, not auto-rejected or auto-cleared.
  • Enhanced due diligence trigger — transfers above the CBN standard threshold (configurable; currently set at ₦500M equivalent) require enhanced_due_diligence flag on the recipient object.

Compliance rules are maintained per-CBN policy update cycle. NectPay notifies API clients of any threshold or documentation changes before they take effect. See our Security & Compliance page for full detail on the compliance engine architecture.

FX — how the rate is set

NectPay's FX engine queries three liquidity sources for every GBP → NGN conversion — interbank wholesale, stablecoin on/off-ramp, and the rail-embedded provider rate — and routes through the source offering the best effective rate at the moment of conversion.

The spread above the mid-market rate (currently 1,620 NGN/USD indicative) is disclosed in the API response before you confirm the payout. There is no additional hidden margin applied by NectPay. See exact spread ranges by source on our Pricing page.

The naira has historically shown volatility against sterling; NectPay does not currently offer forward contracts or rate locks for the GBP → NGN corridor, but this is on our roadmap for Scale and Enterprise clients.

Corridor at a glance

Source currencyGBP
Destination currencyNGN
Country codeNG
Regulatory bodyCentral Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
PhasePhase 1 — live
Best settlement time~8 seconds
NectPay total cost<2% combined
Market average cost8.45–8.78%
Available rails4

Example API request

{
  "sourceCurrency": "GBP",
  "destinationCurrency": "NGN",
  "destinationCountry": "NG",
  "sourceAmountMinor": 500000,
  "purposeCode": "supplier_payment",
  "recipient": {
    "name": "Adaeze Okafor",
    "idNumber": "NG-BVN-22910384",
    "accountNumber": "0123456789"
  }
}
Try it live →

Nigeria context

Population220M+
GDP~$370B
Remittances / GDP~10%
UK–Nigeria corridorTop 3 source market
Fintech ecosystemActive and growing — home to several of Africa's leading payment companies
Mobile penetration>85%

Common use cases on this corridor

💼

Supplier & vendor payments

UK businesses paying Nigerian suppliers or service providers — requires BVN, purpose code, and bank account details.

👷

Gig worker & contractor payouts

Platforms disbursing earnings to Nigerian freelancers and contractors — high frequency, lower individual amounts, SLA-critical.

💸

Diaspora remittances (B2C)

Remittance fintechs using NectPay as white-label infrastructure to pay Nigerian families — volume-sensitive, compliance-heavy.

🏢

Payroll disbursement

Companies paying Nigerian employees or local staff — requires enhanced compliance documentation, audit-grade trail.

🛒

Marketplace vendor payouts

E-commerce platforms paying Nigerian sellers — needs multi-recipient batch capability and predictable FX windows.

🤝

NGO & development disbursements

Programme payments to Nigerian beneficiaries — needs last-mile agent network access and full compliance documentation.

Other corridors

Ready to send payments into Nigeria?

Try a live payout through the NectPay demo — no signup required.