US: Coinbase or Kraken. UK/EU: Kraken, Coinbase or Bitstamp. Canada: Kraken, Newton, Wealthsimple Crypto (transfer-enabled). UAE and Gulf: Binance, Bybit, Rain. Everywhere else: Binance or Bybit generally work. You want two features: USDT (or USDC) purchase and crypto withdrawals — every platform above has both.
Buy the amount in USDT. Open Withdraw → USDT. Paste the receiver's Monica address (have them send it via WhatsApp). Select the network the address belongs to — TRC-20 recommended. Confirm with 2FA. Done: the receiver gets a notification when it confirms, usually within minutes.
Send $10 first. Confirm the receiver sees it. Then send the balance. This one habit removes essentially all risk from the process — addresses don't change, so once the test lands, every future transfer to that address is safe.
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 the US at 2am. She paid the hospital before 7am. Nothing else I know can do that."
"My daughter in the UK sends USDT now instead of Ria. The naira lands in my First Bank the same hour — no queue, no agent, no story."
"Rent for my family house in Surulere goes through this route now. Landlord gets a bank transfer, I pay no remittance fee at all."
"I japa'd two years ago. Every app I tried had limits or delays. USDT plus Monica is the only route that has never failed me."
USDT for remittances — dollar-stable, ~$1 fees on TRC-20, deepest naira liquidity. USDC is an equally good alternative from US platforms.
On your exchange, yes — standard KYC where you live. Sending itself needs nothing extra; the receiver handles Nigeria-side compliance in their Monica verification.
You can send BTC directly — Monica converts it to naira too. For pure remittance though, converting to USDT first avoids price movement during transit and confirms faster.
The receiver gets an in-app notification on confirmation, and the blockchain gives you a public transaction ID you can both check in real time.
No — on-chain transfers are final once sent. That's why the test-transfer habit and network matching matter. Double-check, then send.
0% platform fees on the Nigeria side. Live market rate. Every Nigerian bank. Set the route up once — use it for years.
Download Monica