International Money Transfer Operators (IMTO) — Nigeria
The Nigeria category mapped to cross-border remittance.
Regulator: Central Bank of Nigeria.
CBN-approved international money transfer operators (Revised IMTO Guidelines, Jan 2024). Standalone approval regime - contrast with Ghana's registration-via-partnership model.
Maintained: this official source is re-checked on a weekly schedule — last checked 2026-08-24 · unchanged since the previous check.
Licensed providers
108 entitiesShowing 108 of 108
Reading the tables
- not dated
- — the official source publishes no date of its own. We show our own last-checked date instead of inventing one for the regulator.
Licence requirements
What it takes to hold this licence, as stated in the cited official instruments. Capital and fees are shown in the currency the statute itself uses.
| Requirement | As published | Source | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum capital | US$1,000,000 for foreign IMTOs; "the equivalent" for indigenous IMTOs Verbatim“Minimum share capital of US$1million for foreign IMTOs and the equivalent for indigenous IMTOs” | CBN, Guidelines on International Money Transfer Services in Nigeria (Revised — January 2024). | 2024-01 |
| Local presence / incorporation | Indigenous IMTOs must be incorporated in Nigeria; all IMTOs must hold approval to operate in other jurisdictions/agency agreement; a Nigerian Authorised Dealer Bank must act as local agent (final approval) Verbatim“Evidence of tax clearance and incorporation documents in Nigeria (for indigenous IMTOs) … the primary object clause shall indicate provision of money transfer services … Approval to operate in other jurisdictions or agency agreement (for all IMTOs) … Names of Authorized Dealer Bank(s) to serve as local agent(s) and copy of agency agreement” | CBN, Guidelines on International Money Transfer Services in Nigeria (Revised — January 2024). | 2024-01 |
| Timeline | Two-phase (AIP → Final). Final-approval application due ≤ 3 months after AIP. No decision SLA stated. Verbatim“The approval shall be in two phases: Approval-in-Principle and Final Approval. … All IMTOs shall submit an application to the CBN for final approval not later than three months after obtaining AIP” | CBN, Guidelines on International Money Transfer Services in Nigeria (Revised — January 2024). | 2024-01 |
| Local ownership | No such requirement: No local-ownership quota. Ownership + beneficial-owner disclosure required. | CBN, Guidelines on International Money Transfer Services in Nigeria (Revised — January 2024). | 2024-01 |
| Fees | ₦10,000,000 non-refundable application + ₦10,000,000 annual renewal (payable on/before 31 Jan) Verbatim“A non-refundable application fee of N10,000,000.00 (Ten Million Naira only)… … …annual renewal at a fee of N10,000,000.00 (Ten million Naira only) … on or before 31st January of the year.” | CBN, Guidelines on International Money Transfer Services in Nigeria (Revised — January 2024). | 2024-01 |
| Ongoing obligations | Annual renewal within Q1; operate through Authorised Dealer Bank local agents; AML/CFT/CPF policies (per FPR/DIR/GEN/CIR/001/061); consumer-protection & dispute-resolution; IT/security policies; business plan/financial projections Verbatim“Renewal of IMTO approval shall be done within the first quarter of every year” | CBN, Guidelines on International Money Transfer Services in Nigeria (Revised — January 2024). | 2024-01 |
Requirements as published in the cited instruments — not legal or compliance advice. Where a value is located but not yet verified, we show that it exists but don't publish the figure. Verify directly with the regulator.
The equivalent in other markets
Categories mapped to the same normalized activity —
fintech:REMITTANCE_XBORDER:
- → Money Remittance Provider (Kenya)
- → International Money Transfer Operator (Ghana)
- → Authorised Dealer in foreign exchange with Limited Authority - Category 3 (South Africa)
- → Money Transfer Service Provider (Tanzania)
- → Money Remittance Operator (Uganda)
- → Money Transfer Service Provider (Zambia)
- → Remittance (Rwanda)
- → Money Remittance/Transfer Agency (Ethiopia)
- → Établissement de paiement spécialisé, exclusivement, en matière de transfert de fonds (Morocco)
- → Authorised Dealer with Limited Authority - Tier 1 (Zimbabwe)
- → Authorised Dealer with Limited Authority - Tier 2 (Zimbabwe)
- → Messagerie financière (DR Congo)
- → Instituição de transferência de fundos (Mozambique)
- → Casa de câmbio autorizada a exercer actividade de remessa de valores (Angola)
- → Foreign Exchange Bureau and Money Transfer (Lesotho)
- → Non-Account Based Payment Services (Money Remittance Service) (Botswana)
- → Money Service Provider (Money Transfer Agent) (Malawi)
- → Établissement de paiement (Tunisia)
- → Money Transfer Business (Somalia)
- → Établissement de paiement de transmission de fonds à l'international (Burundi)
- → Auxiliaire financier (Djibouti)
- → Payment service provider (Seychelles)