Traveling to Lagos Advice

Appendix

Paying for Things in Lagos, Nigeria

Exchange Rates

Nigeria’s exchange rate system was reformed in the last few years and for the most part the official and black market rates have converged. If you want to check to see if the official rate quoted by google matches the black market rate, check out this twitter feed or a WhatsApp bot like KoboFx.

Paying for Things

Nigeria’s digital payments system is instant and modern, but it’s disconnected from global card networks, so don’t expect to use your international credit or debit cards here. International cards can sometimes be used at high-end restaurants or hotels, but they require a separate POS device which many establishments don't have.

And, while cash is widely accepted, it’s painful to use because the largest denomination is the N1,000 note (less than $1). On top of this, there are often periods of cash scarcity, making physical cash difficult to acquire.

The ultimate setup as a visitor is to find a friend who can lend you their local debit card and local bank account. In lieu of that, I recommend using Zap by Paystack - the top fintech in the country. This will give you a digital wallet with which you can instantly send bank transfers to any Nigerian bank account. To fund the wallet, you can either use Apple Pay or send money to yourself with an international remittance app.

The international remittance apps I recommend are Tap Tap Send, Sendwave, LemFi, and Wise. Try to set them up prior to arriving because if you sign up from Nigeria your account may be flagged and you’ll need to message their support to get unblocked. These apps support users from many countries but not all so check before you arrive.

Of course, you can also use an international remittance app to pay for things directly instead of first funding your Zap account and then paying for things with Zap, but international remittance apps sometimes take time to send a transfer whereas Zap transfers occur instantly.

Either way, one you can make bank transfers you’ll be able pay for just about anything locally. Just ask anyone you’re trying to pay which bank they use and their account number. If you’re at a restaurant or supermarket it might take some time for them to confirm your transfer, but it’s usually not a big deal.

It can still be useful to carry a bit of physical cash in case you want to buy something small. If your visit is short, you can withdraw cash from most ATMs using your international debit card. You’ll only be able to withdraw a maximum of 10k Naira per transaction but you can do this repeatedly.

The alternative setup is to come with new $100 dollar bills (the ones with the hologram) to exchange into Naira. Don’t come with smaller denominations. They’re either not accepted or exchanged at a worse rate. You can exchange physical dollars for naira at the airport or at a Bureau de Change in town. The rate posted at the airport kiosks often isn’t great, but you can improve this with a little negotiation.