I'd like to know what the different e-banking services are that Nigerian banks offer. The purpose is to fully manage the accounts from abroad with a reasonable level of security (e.g. using digipass technology - www.vasco.com - or something similar).

There will be accounts in different denominations (Naira, Euro, USD) and moving money between these accounts should incur as little transaction costs as possible. I am also interested in the possibilities concerning Internationals transfers using the SWIFT system.

Are there any banks that offer that possibility in their online banking offers?

I did browse thru some bank websites and I found out that STB, Firstbank, GTB and Zenith offer you the opportunity to transfer funds between your accounts(USD,EUR,NGN..etc) and you can also transfer funds to third party accounts in the same bank.

However STB (Standard Trust Bank now UBA) stands out, as you can transfer money to a Named Beneficiary. ie Someone that doesn't have an account with the bank. You enter a test key and relay same to the beneficiary and the Branch to pickup the funds from and its done. I have done it so many times.

Interswitch, Nigeria's premier payments switching provider are to introduce the ability to transfer money from an account in any bank, to another account in any bank in Nigeria, provided both accounts are linked to Debit Cards.

I have not come across any bank's site in Nigeria that allows you yo transfer money abroad via the web. You would have to fill out the necessary forms. The best you can get is that you can fax the transfer request to them. That's if you are transfering from a FCY account.

The Central Bank's regulations request them to report FCY transactions to them.

Mazi:

However STB (Standard Trust Bank now UBA) stands out, as you can transfer money to a Named Beneficiary. ie Someone that doesn't have an account with the bank. You enter a test key and relay same to the beneficiary and the Branch to pickup the funds from and its done. I have done it so many times.

We (my wife and I) are currently working with UBA and I found their offering subpar. As we're with UBA (and not STB) and the integration will only be a fact by march, we do not have that possibility. I was making the enquiry especially because I thought their offering was insufficient. They also charge you 1% commission on all transactions from and to a Euro account, which is - if you compare it to international standards pure theft..

Anyway, in Belgium I am a customer of Fortis and what they offer is far superior: full management of bank accounts (this includes all transaction you can do in the bank), including international tranfers. On top of that you manage your insurances, mortages, pension savings, stocks & bonds and credit cards all using one point of entry. All transactions are secured through the use of a digipass.

I was very happy to find out that recently Nigeria entered the SWIFT system as well, so that we could make tranfers to Nigeria without having to pass throug Western Union or the likes.

Anyway, thanks for the info. We are looking forward to the time when we'll be able to use the STB services.

Have u guys checked www.naijafunds.com , i think it cost 50 dollars to transfer 500 dollars. and they can transfer it into ur account in Nigeria.

most nigerian banks are a rip off, they charge commission on any and i mean any thing.

gbengaijot:

Have u guys checked www.naijafunds.com , i think it cost 50 dollars to transfer 500 dollars. and they can transfer it into your account in Nigeria.

10% costs on money transfers is completely ridiculous. When doing a SWIFT transfer to a Nigerian bank, we will never pay more than €150 costs, even for amounts over €20.000 (Fixed costs: max €100, min €7 + max 1 promille on the amount + communication costs for SWIFT messages (negligable))

My main concern is the management of the accounts from abroad. I can fully manage my Belgian accounts from anywhere in the world.

i can't manage my nigerian acounts from every where in nigeria talk less of outside.

otokx:

i can't manage my nigerian acounts from every where in nigeria talk less of outside.

Apparently STB allows you to do that. If you can make transfers to other Nigerian accounts, if you can transfer money to people even if they do not hold an account with the bank, all using their e-banking services, then that's what I need. If only their commissions weren't that high

I'm looking forward to testing it out.

All this transfer...u mean wire tranfer right?

I dont know alot about money market but anytime I need to process some money here in the US, I go through the nigerian embassey then they will send document to the CBN then from CBN to UBA before the money get wired to me. Is this the same thing? I mean....

larger_20:

All this transfer...u mean wire tranfer right?

I don't know alot about money market but anytime I need to process some money here in the US, I go through the nigerian embassey then they will send document to the CBN then from CBN to UBA before the money get wired to me. Is this the same thing? I mean....

I didn't know you'd had to pass through the embassy to do that in the US. Seems to be a lot of effort to me. UBA has got branches in the US, so a simple SWIFT transfer, without intermediaries should do the trick. Or are you trying to wire money from Nigeria to the US?

nferyn:

Are you trying to wire money from Nigeria to the US?

That is what i have been doing for the past 4 yrs now...I dont know much about it though. All I have to do is complete some forms and send it to the embassey in NY. They will start the process. Is wire tranfer diffrent from SWIFT?

larger_20:

That is what i have been doing for the past 4 years now...I don't know much about it though. All I have to do is complete some forms and send it to the embassey in NY. They will start the process. Is wire tranfer diffrent from SWIFT?

SWIFT is the international system for money transfers between banks. No government agency is involved in either way. Each bank has a unique swift code, for some transactions (like most when you're dealing with Nigeria), you need to pass through an intermediary bank. See http://www.swift.com/ for more info.

IC..it was not explained to me but i know ....that CBN has an exchange program for larger buisness firms..which I am lucky to be part of. I will check it out..thanks for the link

larger_20:

IC..it was not explained to me but i know ....that CBN has an exchange program for larger buisness firms..which I am lucky to be part of

So I guess your transaction costs are minimal

I am almost sure that online international funds transfer wouldn't be very available for a long time. The issue doesn't have to do with technology but regulations.

The Nigerian forex space is tightly regulates, especially becuase of our Yahoo! friends.

But I know a bank who is looking for ways around this issue so that the customer can be satisfied.

dejiolowe:

I am almost sure that online international funds transfer wouldn't be very available for a long time. The issue doesn't have to do with technology but regulations.

The Nigerian forex space is tightly regulates, especially becuase of our Yahoo! friends.

But I know a bank who is looking for ways around this issue so that the customer can be satisfied.

Actually the banking systems of most countries are tightly regulated. In Belgium, when making a transfer over €3500, national or international, it automatically gets registered and the info is sent tho the central banking commission and investigated (you need to have a plausible source of these funds). If it's over €5000 the federal financial crimes division gets a notification and these transactions are regularly investigated. For all funds over €3500, the bank needs to have proof of origin.

maybe I had a bad experience with naija transfer this transfer that but for folks abroad, pls stick to western union/money mart. when its comes to money business/transfers with nigerian, one will die if they fall from the hight of the stories that comes with it! they make it sound easy and smoth but when you're in it...................... stories!

prince_onx:

maybe I had a bad experience with Nigeria transfer this transfer that but for folks abroad, please stick to western union/money mart. when its comes to money business/transfers with nigerian, one will die if they fall from the hight of the stories that comes with it! they make it sound easy and smoth but when you're in it...................... stories!

We're talking about transfers between our own accounts. It isn't easy, but once everthing isset up, SWIFT is very reliale and the charges are minimal. Western Union is pure theft. No more, no less.

Hey People
i am very much interested in this as i have been trying to open an account in nigeria even though i am over here....am not a business user or anything just a personal savings account so when im goin 4 holiday i dnt have to start savin or carrying money around.....

I tried the online application for STB/UBA but i dint get a reply i was prompted to fill in another application form after several month which included details about my account here (UK)...account number n all whole shizzle....my passport numbers...house address..just seems somehow considering the fact it was "nigeria" ( very unfortunate)....

I asked my cousin to open an online savings ( virtual pal account STANDARD TRUST BANK) account in her own name on my behalf so that i can see the balance n even though i can transfer funds directly i will send da money from those agencies ..travelex,moneygramm....
AFTER anoher 3 weeks....when she got there ...the "CUSTOMER SERVICE/RECEPTION/CASHIER/MADAM.....said she has never heard of " virtual pal account"
and after another 2weeks another receptionist said they'll have to send da form which i emailed to my cousin from their website
to their head office which will take another 2 weeks as they dnt know about it in their branch....

just imagine after all this how much would i be able to save ?1?!


NFERYN...n fellow landers u seem to have done da research n passed da several beaurecracies...
basically i want to open an account in nigeria without obviously have to go their and show them my " drivers liecense" and "nepa bills"...which i will be able to view online,transfer funds to relatives from my nigerian account possibly to their account or pick up...
and if there is any that allows transfer of fund from an international /uk account[font=Lucida Sans Unicode][/font][size=8pt][/size]

LoverBwoy:

NFERYN...n fellow landers u seem to have done da research n passed da several beaurecracies...
basically i want to open an account in nigeria without obviously have to go their and show them my " drivers liecense" and "nepa bills"...which i will be able to view online,transfer funds to relatives from my nigerian account possibly to their account or pick up...
and if there is any that allows transfer of fund from an international /uk account[font=Lucida Sans Unicode][/font][size=8pt][/size]

Well, I didn't have to go through this ordeal, it was my wife. Luckily, she was introduced to the right people, so everything went smoothly.
When making international transfers, make sure that you have an account in the currency you're sending, otherwise you'll pay an exchange commission and you'll only get the current official exchange rate. Not a smart thing to do. For a Euro acount with UBA, you need to make a deposit of €1000, I expect a similar amount for an account in Pounds or Dollars.
Once that account is set up, SWIFT-transfers are relatively easy and the costs are negligable if compared to Western Union and the likes.

THANKS NYFERYN

im goin to dump da stb idea i read n notice many bad thing about them...from this website...u mentioned uba but they dnt have a page of their own so i conclude they are da same after da whole mergin thing

I spoke with some people at GTB n they were very helpful n thorough even promised to set an account up for me with online access in A DAY! dats if i come to nigeria...i wil get some1 to open it for me over there

and explained da domicilary account will have to be after 6months with them which was kool with me.


thanks again N

UBA is the bomb. I use them for swift tranfer

so, in a nutshell, you all are saying that if i have an account in the States and want to transfer funds to an account in nigeria, i can do it via swift transfer?
And when i'm ready to withdraw some funds while visiting in Nigeria, i can do so with no hassle except for a minimal fee of withdrawal? That easy and simple?, have you heard of skye bank? How good are they?

Yes, paypal could have been better and cheaper but nigeria is still far from being recognized by paypal