Foreign exchange guide to Nigeria and the Nigerian Naira (NGN)
What's in this Nigeria currency guide?
NGN News, Forecasts and Trends
The below interactive chart shows the USD to NGN exchange rate, trend and recent alerts for the last 90 days.
ALERT:1-DAY▼0.8% |
USD/NGN at 387.5 was trading 2.2% above AVG:379.01 with LO:363 and HI:391.47 (90 days). ALERT: Today USD/NGN is DOWN 0.8%
Frequently Asked Questions
What currency should I use in Nigeria?
The domestic currency in Nigeria is the Nigerian Naira.
What is the Nigerian Naira currency code and symbol?
The three letter currency code for the Nigerian Naira is NGN — symbol is ₦.
Which countries use the Nigerian Naira?
It is the domestic currency in Nigeria.
Is the Nigerian Naira a closed currency?
Yes the Nigerian Naira is a closed currency. Which means that you may find it difficult to purchase the currency (NGN) before departure and will probably need to buy it upon arrival. If you do manage to buy some of the currency or have some left over from a previous trip, make sure you are aware if you are allowed to bring this closed currency into the country.
For more information and a full list of closed currencies please refer to our guide: What is a closed currency?
Travel, Currency and Money saving tips for Nigeria
Travel money for Nigeria
As mentioned above, the Nigerian Naira is a closed currency. Which means that you may find it difficult (or be permitted) to purchase the currency (NGN) before departure and will need to buy it upon arrival in Nigeria.
For these types of destinations, using a pre-paid travel card is a good solution. As no travel cards support loading closed currencies like the NGN you will incur currency conversion or foreign transaction fees if you use a travel money card in Nigeria.
However, using a pre-paid travel card is still a good idea as you can avoid ATM fees and also you can avoid using (and losing!) your main bank or debit/credit card.
Sending money to Nigeria
When searching around for information on how to get a good exchange rate when sending money to Nigeria you need to start with finding out the latest Nigerian Naira foreign-transfer exchange rate.
Then compare your bank's exchange rates to several licensed FX providers exchange rate and fees to see how much you can save (we make that calculation easy here).
Get a better deal for foreign transfers to Nigeria
When sending money to Nigeria it’s important to compare your bank’s rates & fees with those we have negotiated with our partner money transfer providers. To get a better deal you should follow these 4 simple steps :
- Open an account with a BER reviewed FX provider (id docs may be required)
- You specify the local or Nigerian Naira amount you want to transfer
- Make a local currency domestic transfer for the requested amount to the provider's bank account in your country
- Once your funds are received by the provider the converted NGN amount will be transfered to the recipient account you specify in Nigeria.
Use our Send to Nigerian Naira calculator to compare the exchange rates of FX specialist providers rates versus your bank's standard rates you can hopefully save around 5% and maybe more - end result is more Nigerian Naira deposited into the recipient bank account and less margins and fees kept by the banks!