Remittance Inflows to Nigeria Hit $328.76M in First Four Months of 2025 Amid U.S. Tax Concerns

A recent report revealed that the Nigerians living abroad sent a total of $ 328.76 million in direct funds to their homes between January and April 2025.

According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Efflow started at $ 54.44 million in January, then increased to $ 125.59 million in February, which represents an increase of more than 130% and the highest monthly influx recorded this year.

However, the upward trend has slowed down in March, with funds falling to $ 110.98 million, and also dropped in April to 37.75 million dollars, the lowest monthly figure of the year.

The United States offering a tax on funds of 5%, analysts suggest that this could probably have an impact on the starters for next month. Recall that earlier this month, the Trump administration proposed a bill entitled “The One Big Beautiful Bill”, seeking to place an excise tax of 5% on all international monetary transfers sent by non-citizens from the United States to other countries. For the millions of Nigerian migrants who send money home to support families or invest in their country of origin, this could mean billions of dollars of new costs.

The United States is the greatest source of funding to Nigeria. According to the World Bank and other sources, the United States is constantly leading as a country higher than the fall in worldwide shipments, with a significant part led to Nigeria. In 2023, Nigeria received about $ 19.5 billion in funding, with around 60% of these flows from the United States and the United Kingdom, and the United States contributing to the largest part due to its large-scale Nigerian diaspora, estimated at more than 5 million people.

However, it should be noted that the regular increase in funding to Nigeria is motivated by the growing adoption of mobile fund payment systems. Over the past five years, Nigeria has received more than $ 99 billion in diaspora funds, highlighting the important role of the Nigerian diaspora in the country’s economic landscape.

To improve efficiency and security within the payments ecosystem, countries like Nigeria and South Africa have strengthened industry regulations to limit fraud and improve cybersecurity. The positive impact of these measures extends beyond traditional financial services, influencing the adoption of virtual assets and increasing regulatory attention
Development of cybersecurity.

In 2024, Nigeria recorded total funds of $ 20.98 billion, the highest level in five years and an increase of 9% in annual sliding. Formal fund transfer channels experienced significant growth of 43%, from $ 3.3 billion to $ 4.73 billion. This growth, according to the Governor of the CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, was motivated by reforms such as the Forex regime “voluntary buyer, the voluntary seller”, the granting of increased licenses for international money transfer operators (IMTO) and the convergence of currencies.

In addition, Cardoso has attributed the improvement of funds to recent economic reforms, noting a remarkable increase in monthly payment entries of $ 250 million earlier in 2024 to $ 600 million by September 2024. He explained that more Nigerians in the diaspora choose official canals to hand over funds, thanks to new CBN policies official more calls.

To further increase the entries, the CBN has deployed several initiatives, including the introduction of the verification number of non -resident banks (NRBVN), aimed at achieving a daring objective of $ 1 billion in monthly remissions. The bank also promotes the use of the non -resident ordinary account (NROA) and the non -resident Nigerian investment account (NRNIA), which channels the diaspora in productive sectors such as capital markets, real estate, insurance and pensions.

In particular, Governor Cardoso stressed the need to go beyond the visualization of funds simply as a source of consumption support. “These flows can be transformers if they are properly exploited,” he said.