Corridor
Sending money to Nigeria from the UAE
1 AED = 366.38 NGN
What arrives in Nigeria
A transfer from the UAE to Nigeria converts UAE dirhams into Nigerian naira. Two things sit between the rate above and the amount your recipient sees: the fee the service charges, and the margin it adds to the rate itself. The second is usually larger, and is often not presented as a cost at all.
Official central rate vs what you’ll actually get
The AED/NGN rate above is the official central rate published by Central Bank of Nigeria official NFEM rate on 2026-10-30. It is the reference point, not a price you can transact at.
Why the amount received is lower
- Transfer fee. A flat charge, or a percentage, taken by the sending service.
- Exchange rate markup. Most services apply a spread to the reference rate. This is usually the larger cost and is often not shown as a fee.
- Receiving method. Bank deposit, mobile wallet and cash pickup can carry different rates and charges.
- Timing. Reference rates are published once per working day; a transfer is priced when it is executed.
What a markup costs
Illustration only, not a quote from any provider: at a 1.5% markup with a AED4.00 fee, sending AED1,000 delivers about ₦359,442 instead of the ₦366,382 the official central rate implies — a difference of ₦6,939.
Nigeria: This is the Central Bank of Nigeria official rate. Rates offered by banks, transfer services and informal markets may differ.
Common amounts sent from the UAE
| You send | Reference value in NGN | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| AED100 | ₦36,638 | 100 UAE dirhams in NGN |
| AED200 | ₦73,276 | 200 UAE dirhams in NGN |
| AED500 | ₦183,191 | 500 UAE dirhams in NGN |
| AED1,000 | ₦366,382 | 1k UAE dirhams in NGN |
| AED2,000 | ₦732,763 | 2k UAE dirhams in NGN |
| AED5,000 | ₦1,831,909 | 5k UAE dirhams in NGN |
What to know about receiving money in Nigeria
Recipients are paid in naira, not in dollars
Under the Central Bank of Nigeria's guidelines for international money transfer operators, an IMTO may make payouts only in naira, not in foreign currency. Older rules allowed either. A recipient therefore cannot elect to take a transfer in dollars and hold it; the conversion happens on arrival, at the operator's rate. The CBN separately removed the band that had confined operators to within 2.5% of the previous day's closing rate, so the rate applied is a market rate rather than one pinned to an official figure.
This governs money arriving through a transfer operator. A domiciliary account at a Nigerian bank is a different arrangement with its own terms, and what it permits depends on the bank.
Aluko & Oyebode, on the CBN Guidelines on International Money Transfer Services · checked 2026-09-18
Before you send
- Compare the rate, not just the fee. A service advertising no fee may take more through its margin than one charging a flat amount.
- Check the receiving method. Bank deposit, mobile wallet and cash pickup can be priced differently.
- Check when it is priced. The reference rate is published once per working day; a transfer is converted when it is actually executed.