USDT/USDC (TRC-20/Solana): minutes, 24/7. Fintech apps (LemFi, Sendwave): minutes when their corridor is quiet, hours when compliance queues kick in, and payout waits on Nigerian banking rails. Western Union/MoneyGram: minutes to cash pickup during agent hours, days for bank deposit. SWIFT wire: 2–5 business days. The stablecoin route is the only one whose speed doesn't depend on business hours, corridor load, or manual review.
There's no correspondent chain. The token moves wallet-to-wallet on-chain, confirmation is cryptographic rather than clerical, and the naira leg rides NIBSS instant rails — the same infrastructure Nigerian banks use for instant transfers. Under 60 seconds from conversion tap to bank alert.
Hospital deposits, bail, a flight that must be booked tonight — the cases where remittance speed actually matters are exactly the cases where 'available Monday 9am' fails. On-chain transfers have no opening hours. This single property is why many diaspora families keep the USDT route set up even if they mostly use other apps.
Fees shown are typical all-in costs including exchange-rate markup — the honest number, not the advertised one.
| Route | Fees on $500 | Typical timing | What the receiver actually gets |
|---|---|---|---|
| USDT → Monica.cash | 0% platform fee — only the network fee (~$1 on TRC-20) | Seconds to a few minutes on-chain, then under 60 seconds to the bank | ≈ ₦810,000 at the live market rate, full amount, any Nigerian bank |
| Western Union | 5%–8% + exchange-rate markup | Minutes to days | Agent or bank payout at a marked-down rate |
| MoneyGram | 4%–7% + rate markup | Minutes to days | Cash pickup limits apply ($200 per IMTO payout rules) |
| Bank wire (SWIFT) | $25–$50 flat + correspondent fees | 2–5 business days | Lands in a domiciliary account at the official rate |
| Fintech remitters (Remitly, WorldRemit, etc.) | 1%–4% + rate spread | Minutes to 2 days | Rate is set by the app, usually below the open market |
Your family member (or you, on the Nigeria side) downloads Monica from Google Play or the App Store and completes KYC — BVN or NIN plus a selfie, about 4 minutes.
Inside the app, choose USDT and pick a network — TRC-20 is the popular choice for remittance because the network fee is about $1 and confirmation takes seconds to a couple of minutes.
From any exchange or wallet abroad — Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, Bybit, or a self-custody wallet — send USDT to the Monica address. The blockchain doesn't care about borders, weekends, or banking hours.
Once the deposit confirms on-chain, naira credits the Monica balance at the live rate. Bank withdrawal completes in under 60 seconds — Opay, Kuda, GTBank, Zenith, all Nigerian banks.
"Sent my mum's hospital bill money from Canada at 2am. She paid the hospital before 7am. Nothing else I know can do that."
"Weekend transfers used to be dead time with the banks. USDT doesn't know what a weekend is."
"My parents are retired and not tech people. They only see the UBA alert — I handle the USDT side from the UK. Simple."
"First time I tried it I sent just $20 to test. It worked so fast I sent the real $800 immediately after."
Under 10 minutes door-to-door via USDT on TRC-20, including on-chain confirmation and the under-60-second Monica payout. At any hour, any day.
Yes. Blockchains and NIBSS both run 24/7/365. Sunday 3am behaves exactly like Tuesday 3pm.
Usually the sender funding their exchange account if it's empty — a bank deposit abroad can take a day. Senders who keep a small USDT balance ready can move money home in minutes flat.
Solana and TRC-20 confirm in seconds. ERC-20 takes 1–3 minutes. All are supported on the receiving side.
Under 60 seconds after the deposit confirms on-chain — conversion at the live rate plus NIBSS bank transfer. Digital banks like Opay and Kuda often show the alert in 5–10 seconds.
0% platform fees on the Nigeria side. Live market rate. Every Nigerian bank. Set the route up once — use it for years.
Download Monica