Global fintech company Wise has secured its long-awaited International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) license in Nigeria, marking a major milestone in its expansion across Africa’s largest remittance market.
The approval positions the global fintech to offer faster, more transparent cross-border transfers directly to Nigerian users, strengthening competition and advancing financial inclusion in the country’s payments ecosystem.
After more than a decade of operating in Nigeria primarily through third-party partnerships, the British fintech is back in the country to offer its services.
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Recall that Wise first entered the Nigerian market around 2015-2016, enabling users to send money directly into Naira dominated accounts. At the time this aligned with the company’s mission of offering fast, affordable, and transparent cross-border payments.
However, by 2016, Wise suspended its Nigerian operations. The company cited difficulties in maintaining its hallmark mid-market exchange rates due to local foreign exchange constraints and regulatory pressures.
Fast forward to 2017, Wise made a return to Nigeria after a period of about 17 months. The re-entry signaled renewed optimism about serving the country’s large remittance market, which receives billions of dollars annually from the diaspora. That optimism, however, proved short-lived.
In 2020, the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced a policy requiring all diaspora remittances to be paid out in U.S. dollars rather than naira. This policy shift disrupted Wise’s operational model, which relied heavily on local currency payouts. As a result, the company once again scaled back or suspended key services in the country.
The approval of Wise, highlighted in recent updates and confirmed through official channels including a UK-Nigeria ministerial dialogue communiqué dated March 16, 2026, marks a major milestone for the company in Africa’s largest remittance market.
The fintech giant formerly known as TransferWise, has already facilitated over £600 million (approximately $750–800 million depending on exchange rates) in transfers to Nigerian recipients.
The newly granted IMTO license allows Wise to operate directly in Nigeria, eliminating dependency on intermediaries for inward remittances. This shift is expected to bring several tangible benefits to users:
Wise’s signature feature of using the real (interbank) rate without hidden markups could now apply more consistently and transparently to Nigeria-bound transfers.
– Lower overall costs — Reduced intermediary layers typically translate to cheaper fees for senders and better net amounts received.
– Faster processing times — Direct operations often enable quicker crediting to Nigerian accounts.
– Potential product expansion — Industry observers anticipate Wise may roll out or enhance features such as business accounts, bulk payments, or improved local-currency holding options tailored to the Nigerian market.
The timing aligns with Wise’s broader African expansion strategy. The company recently obtained a license in South Africa (reported late 2025), signaling increased commitment to the continent where remittance flows remain critically important.
It is worth noting that Nigeria leads Africa in remittance inflows, receiving roughly $20 billion annually according to World Bank and local estimates. This massive market has attracted intense competition in recent years. Local and diaspora-focused fintech players such as LemFi and Moniepoint are already offering competitive cross-border services.
Wise’s entry as a fully licensed direct operator is likely to intensify pressure on pricing and service quality across the board. Senders from the UK, US, Canada, and Europe, key source markets for Nigerian diaspora stand to benefit from more choices and potentially lower costs in one of the world’s most expensive remittance corridors.
For millions of Nigerians who rely on international transfers for daily needs, education, healthcare, and business, this regulatory green light could translate into meaningful savings and greater reliability in the months ahead.