You need three things: an exchange account where you live (Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, Bybit — whichever is licensed in your country), a funded balance, and the receiver's Monica USDT address. Buy the USDT, hit withdraw, paste the address, select the matching network, confirm. First time: send $10 as a test, then the balance.
Install Monica from Google Play or the App Store, verify with BVN or NIN plus a selfie (about 4 minutes), open the USDT wallet, choose TRC-20, and share the address with the sender — WhatsApp is fine, addresses aren't secrets. When the transfer lands, convert to naira at the live rate and withdraw. The bank payout completes in under 60 seconds.
Remitter apps price the exchange rate themselves — and that spread is where the real cost hides. The World Bank puts the average Sub-Saharan remittance cost at 8.8% all-in. The USDT route has no rate spread at the Nigeria end: the receiver sees the live USDT/NGN market rate in the app before confirming. On $1,000, that's routinely ₦50,000+ more received.
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 $500 from the UK on a Sunday night. My brother confirmed the Zenith Bank alert before we finished the phone call."
"Sent my mum's hospital bill money from the UK at 2am. She paid the hospital before 7am. Nothing else I know can do that."
"I used to lose almost ₦40,000 in fees every month sending through WorldRemit. Switched to USDT and my mum gets the full amount in her Zenith Bank."
"My parents are retired and not tech people. They only see the Moniepoint alert — I handle the USDT side from Germany. Simple."
Any exchange that allows USDT withdrawals: Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini (US); Kraken, Bitstamp (EU/UK); Binance, Bybit, OKX (most of the world). The destination is just an address — no corridor restrictions.
TRC-20 for remittance: ~$1 fee, fast confirmation. ERC-20 works but gas can cost $2–$10. BEP-20 and Solana are cheap alternatives if the sender's platform supports them. The receiver's Monica app accepts all of them — just match the network on both sides.
The blockchain has no cap. The receiving side's verified Monica account handles ₦50,000,000 per 24 hours by default, with higher limits on request — that's roughly $30,000+ per day.
Network fee ~$1 (TRC-20), Monica platform fee 0%, bank withdrawal fee 0%. Your exchange may charge a small withdrawal fee — check their schedule.
Most exchanges support recurring buys; the send itself is manual but takes under a minute once the address is saved. Many diaspora senders do it on payday alongside their other standing orders.
Match the network and this never happens — Monica displays a separate address per network. If unsure, send a small test first. Cross-network sends to unsupported combinations can be unrecoverable, which is true on every platform.
0% platform fees on the Nigeria side. Live market rate. Every Nigerian bank. Set the route up once — use it for years.
Download Monica