Sending money to Nigeria for the first time

The short answer

Your first transfer to Nigeria takes a few steps. You create an account, verify your identity once, enter an amount, add your recipient and pay by Interac e-Transfer from your own bank account. Then you follow the transfer in the app.

Below are the eight questions people ask most before their first transfer with Cowris.

1. What do I need before I start?

Have these ready:

• An email address and a phone number. You verify both when you sign up.
• A government photo ID. It must be real, not expired and not damaged.
• A camera. A phone or laptop camera works. You use it to scan your ID and take a quick selfie.
• Your own Canadian bank account with Interac e-Transfer.
• Your recipient's details. Their Nigerian bank and their 10-digit account number.

When you sign up, use your legal name. Use the same name as on your ID.

2. Do I need to verify my identity?

Yes, once. You verify before your first transfer. If you try to send without it, the app says: "Please verify your identity before sending money. It takes about 3 minutes."

Our identity partner, Didit, runs the check. You scan your ID and take a selfie. You do not verify again for each transfer.

Read the full guide: what you need to verify your ID to send money.

3. How do I send the money?

The steps in short:

1. Enter the amount. Tap Transfer in the app. In You send, type the Canadian dollars you want to send. Recipient gets shows what your recipient will receive. You can also type the amount you want them to get.
2. Say who you are sending to. Pick the bank and type the 10-digit account number.
3. Review and choose how to pay. Check You pay, They get and the Rate. Choose Pay by Interac e-Transfer.
4. Pay, then tap "I've sent it". Make the e-Transfer in your own bank app with the details on the screen.
5. Follow your transfer in Transactions.

For a full walk-through, see how to send money to Nigeria from Canada.

4. How do I pay?

You pay by Interac e-Transfer from your own bank app. The Cowris screen shows four lines to copy: the amount, the email, the security answer and the message. The message is your transfer code. Paste it in the Interac message box. This is how we match your payment to your transfer.

On your first transfer, the screen says First time? Save Cowris as a contact. Add Cowris as a contact in your bank app with the email shown. Then tap Done, I've saved it. Next time, you just pick Cowris.

A few rules matter a lot:

• Send exactly the amount shown. Not more and not less.
• Copy the security answer. Do not type it from memory.
• Pay from your own bank account, in your own name. Do not pay from a friend's, family member's or company's account.

When you have paid, go back to Cowris and tap I've sent it. You see "We're watching for your payment".

5. How do I know the money goes to the right person?

When you type the bank and account number, Cowris looks up the account. You see the account name with a green tick. Check that the name is your recipient's name before you go on.

Money sent to the wrong account may not come back. So check every detail, every time.

Read more: how to check a Nigerian bank account before you send money.

Tip: tick Save this recipient. Next time, your recipient shows under Saved recipients. Tap them to fill in the form. Still check the name each time.

6. How much can I send?

Each transfer can be from CA$20 to CA$9,990. The amount screen tells you if your amount is too low or too high, for example "Min amount should be 20 CAD".

Your bank may have its own e-Transfer limits. Check with your bank if a larger payment does not go through.

7. What does it cost, and what rate do I get?

There are zero fees on every Cowris route.

The rate changes during the day. See the current rate in the app. Your rate is held for up to 60 minutes once you start a transfer. On the app you see Rate held for with a countdown. If time runs out, we get a new rate for you. If it moved, the screen says "The rate was updated". Check the new numbers before you confirm.

The review screen shows You pay and They get. What you see there is what your recipient gets.