Monzo, the British neobank with over 15 million users, has made its entrance into the Nigerian remittance market. Customers can now send naira directly from the Monzo app, powered by a long-standing partnership with Wise, which received an approval-in-principle from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as an International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) in March. Until August 22, the first transfer is free.
The Nigeria-UK remittance corridor is one of the world’s busiest. Nigeria received over $20 billion in remittances in 2024, and the UK is consistently among the top three source markets. Monzo isn’t building a remittance product from scratch; it’s embedding Wise’s licensed infrastructure into an app that millions of Nigerians in the UK already use as their primary bank account. The product insight is simple: the best remittance experience is the one that requires the fewest new steps.
Monzo’s entry arrives in a corridor already crowded with competition. LemFi, the remittance company, secured an investment from Tether to add stablecoin settlement. Last week, Kenya’s WapiPaysecured a Canadian payments licence to expand its diaspora network. Revolut is building toward a South Africa launch by 2028. Every major UK neobank is now actively chasing the African diaspora corridor.
After the promo period, Monzo will charge standard Wise fees on Nigerian transfers, meaning this isn’t a permanently cheaper option, just a more convenient one. Convenience is worth something. But in a market where other players make plays on competitive fees, Monzo’s play is really about stickiness, keeping users inside one app rather than losing them to a specialist the moment they want to send money home.