In case you have been wondering about the banks that partner with the Western Union in Nigeria and how to go about sending and receiving money through them, then this post is for you.
Note that Western Union is a simplified way of sending money to every part of the world which has been in existence for over 40 years. It is true that millions of Nigerians are now able to send and receive money easily using the Western Union platform.
THE REQUIREMENT FOR SENDING AND RECEIVING MONEY VIA WESTERN UNION
You need a valid means of identification such as:
- A National Identity Card
- A Voters Card
- An International Passport
- A Driver’s License
Please note any of the four above will be completely accepted by any of the western union agent banks attending to you.
Note that you will be charged a transaction fee for what you are about to send or receive. This simply means that it advisable to take extra cash when going to send money through the western union money transfer.
You can now pay the amount you want to send including:
- Once you do this, MTCN will come into play.
- MTCN is Money Transfer Control Number.
- MTCN simply means a number that can be used for clearing the money.
- Once payment is done, you will be given a receipt for your transaction alongside the MTCN.
- This MTCN is what the receiver will be asked to present when claiming the money sent.
- What this means is that after collecting the MTCN, it must be sent to the person that is to receive the funds. Meaning that the receiver will need to provide the MTCN before he/she can claim the money transferred.
- Though your money receiver will need more than just the MTCN to claim the funds.
- Also, he/she will have to go with a valid Identification card.
THE LIST OF BANKS THAT PROCESS WESTERN UNION PAYMENTS IN NIGERIA
According to the Western Union official website at Westernunion.com. Whenever you want to send money, just walk into any of the banks listed below to receive your payments and you would not be required to pay any transaction fees.
- Available at all branches of First Bank of Nigeria PLC nationwide
- Available at all branches of Zenith International Bank nationwide
- Available at all branches of Wema Bank nationwide
- Available at all branches of First city monument bank nationwide
- Available at all branches of Access bank nationwide
- Available at all branches of Ecobank Nigeria PLC nationwide
- Available at all branches of Diamond bank nationwide
- Available at all branches of United Bank of Africa nationwide
- Available at all branches of Fidelity Bank nationwide
- Available at all branches of Keystone Bank nationwide
THE RESTRICTIONS AND SOME INFORMATION FROM WESTERN UNION
- To Send from Nigeria to other countries:
Any transfer that is more than $10,000 US dollars or the local equivalent must first be reported to the CBN.
All sending transactions will only be allowed within the country (not outside Nigeria).
- To receive from other countries to Nigeria:
Any transfer that is more than $10,000 US dollars or the local equivalent must first be reported to the CBN.
Every receiver must present the correct Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN).
Every receiver must present a valid ID card.
Any payment without an ID card on the Test Question alone is forbidden in Nigeria.
All US dollar payments in Nigeria are available at no charge to the receiver.
Every U.S. dollar payouts are subject to availability.
In case there is no sufficient US currency, then payout may be made both in US dollars and in Nigerian Naira using the Western exchange rate at the time of the payment.
However, for additional details on locations or cities that only offer US dollar payouts to receivers, please contact the following agents in Nigeria:
- The Oceanic Bank International available at every location nationwide.
- First Bank of Nigeria PLC, available at every location nationwide.
- Ecobank Nigeria PLC, available at every location nationwide.
- Zenith International Bank, available at every location nationwide.
- The Intercontinental Bank PLC, available at every location nationwide.
- GTBANK PLC, available at every location.
- The Standard Trust Bank available at every location nationwide.
- WEMA Bank, available at every location nationwide.
- NBM Bank, available at every location nationwide.
- The All States Trust Bank available at every location nationwide.
Also, note that the US dollar payment is only available in the following cities in Nigeria:
- Aba
- Abakaliki
- Abeokuta
- Abuja
- Akure
- Alaba
- Apapa
- Asaba
- Awka
- Benin City
- Calabar
- Eket
- Enugu
- Ibadan
- Idumagbo
- Ikeja
- Ilorin
- Ilupeju
- Jos
- Kaduna
- Kano
- Lagos
- Lekki/Ajah
- Maiduguri
- Mushin
- Nnewi
- Onitsha
- Otta
- Owerri
- Port Harcourt
- Shomolu
- Trade Fair
- Ughelli
- Uyo
- Victoria Island
- Warri
- Yenegoa
