Sending $200 home to Nigeria: from South Africa the cheapest service costs $8.02, the average $26.26

Every time someone in Johannesburg sends $200 home to Nigeria, part of it is lost to the fee and the exchange rate. How much depends almost entirely on which service they use.

The World Bank priced 20 services sending $200 from South Africa to Nigeria in its survey of January to March 2025. The cheapest, Mama Money, cost $8.02, or 4.01% of the money. The average service cost $26.26, or 13.13%.

The same $200, six sending countries

Between 13 and 24 services were surveyed from each country. The cost is the World Bank's measure: the fee plus the margin hidden in the exchange rate, as a share of $200.

What it means

For a family sending monthly (Analysis): from South Africa, the cheapest service against the average saves $18.24 on each $200. Over a year of monthly transfers that is $218.88: money that reaches home instead of staying with the provider. From Italy the gap is $11.34 a transfer, or $136.08 a year.

For the spread of prices (Facts): from South Africa the dearest service surveyed cost $69.28 on $200, against the average of $26.26.

For the person receiving (Analysis): the exchange rate matters as much as the fee. A service that advertises "no fee" can still cost more if it gives fewer naira per dollar.

What to check before you send (Facts): the total cost on the provider's own quote screen, meaning the amount that arrives in naira, not just the fee. Then compare it with the next cheapest.

Our cheapest way to send money to Nigeria lists every service the World Bank surveyed, ranked by cost, for each sending country. Afronomics may earn a referral fee from some providers listed on that page, which may include services named in this story. It never changes the order, which is by cost alone.

Information, not advice.