Paga is different to traditional money transfer companies. The Nigeria-based mobile money payment service supports over 15 million individuals and businesses who use Paga for a variety of services: from receiving foreign payments to making local P2P transfers to buying prepaid airtime.
Paga can only be used to receive international transfers, you cannot use the service to make cross border payments. However, we’ve prepared a list of top 10 money transfer companies to send and receive money abroad. In this review, we shall focus on making payments using Paga.
Customers making transfers within Nigeria do not need currency exchanges as all transactions are in Naira. For international money transfers, Paga uses its global partners who also determine the applicable rates and fees.
Exchange rates
Depending on the transfer route, overseas customers can use Paga partners like Moneytrans, MoneyGlobe, WorldRemit, Small World FS, and TerraPay to send money to their recipient’s Paga mobile wallets in Nigeria.
The exchange rate margins charged depend on the international money transfer operators being used. For instance, WorldRemit charges an exchange rate margin of about 3.6% to send money from the UK to Nigeria.
Fees
International transfer fees also depend on the money transfer platform you use. WorldRemit charges zero fees to Paga while Moneytrans charges fees starting from £2.01.
Apart from the international fees, Paga has a price list for local transactions. Here is a summary of the costs involved:
Additional costs
When making an international money transfer to Paga, the bank may charge you a cash advance fee for using a credit card to pay for your transfer. Paga to bank deposits cost 1.50% of the transfer amount in debit card fees.
Paga’s platform has recorded tremendous growth over the years it has been in the financial services industry. Its multi-channel network has brought lots of benefits to customers. Here are some of its pros and cons to help you get a clearer picture of the service they provide.
Paga is a Nigerian digital payments startup supporting over 8% of the local population. Using the service, you can make a variety of payments. Here is a breakdown of the payments and withdrawal options available on the platform.
For international payments, the provider you choose will determine how you pay for your transfer. However, for local payments, you can fund your Paga account through any of the following methods:
International transfers are made directly into the beneficiary’s Paga account using their mobile number as the account number.
Local transfers can also be sent into the recipient’s Paga account, bank account, or merchants pay bill account. Anyone with an email address or a Nigerian phone number can also receive funds using the service. Recipients can withdraw the funds sent from their Paga accounts at an agent, ATM, or POS terminal.
Paga also has a request money feature, with customers can also request money from both Paga and non-Paga users from the app or online platform using an email address or phone number.
Paga has simplified both person-to-person and person-to-business payments in Nigeria, as well as for users making transfers to Paga accounts from abroad. Here is what the process of sending and receiving payment involves.
If you are transferring funds from abroad, the money transfer company you use when sending money to a Paga wallet will define the process to follow. For local payments on the Paga platform here is the process.
1. Sign up for an account: Customers can sign up for a Paga account in four ways: online by visiting the website, using the Paga mobile app, through an agent, or by dialling *242# on their phones and following the prompts.
2. Account verification: This process happens on three levels as follows:
3. Fund your account: Once your account has been verified, you can now fund it through deposits at an agent, bank transfer, or using your debit card.
4. Transfer funds: You can now transfer funds to your recipient in whichever way you like, and the transfer is instant. The beneficiaries can be saved in the system or added during the transaction.
Paga can transfer funds to the designated recipients’ bank accounts, Paga mobile wallets, merchants’ business accounts, or even non-Paga recipients using email addresses or their Nigerian phone numbers.
Yes. Paga has a mobile app through which customers can do the following:
Users of the Paga app appear to have a positive experience; it has a 4.4 rating on the Play Store and 4.5 on the App Store.
Local and international transfers are instant when using Paga, one of the big benefits of using the service.
The minimum and maximum transfers users can make depend on the level to which their account is verifiied. Here is a summary of the daily limits per level.
Paga is a mobile payment company that has gained popularity in both Nigeria and other partner countries since it was launched in 2012. When using a service to send your money, the primary concern is whether you can rely on the platform, so here’s a quick summary of everything you need to know about Paga’s trustworthiness.
History
Pagatech Limited was founded in 2009 by Tayo Oviosu to help Nigerians abroad to make international money transfers to their families back home directly into their Paga mobile money wallets. Since the commercial launching of the service in August 2012, it has grown exponentially adding millions of users and thousands of agents to its network.
Regulatory compliance
The service is registered as a private limited company by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria as a provider of electronic payment systems services.
Key industry partnerships
In a bid to expand its reach, the company has partnered with the following global payment operators.
Paga also has collaborations with local banks and payment rails such as Visa to help facilitate customer payments.
Encryption and customer data
Paga prioritises customer online safety and has bank-grade security measures in place. Transaction information is protected using SSL encryption technology.
Investors and awards
So far, Paga has had 4 investment rounds- a Series A, two Series B, and an Angel round, raising a total of $34.7 million. The top investors include:
In 2013, Paga was shortlisted for the Financial Times & ArcelorMittal “Boldness in Business” Awards.
Most Paga customer reviews are on Instagram and Twitter. Users speak favourably of the company, with these being some of the most common comments:
Positive
Negative
No. Since transfers are instant, cancellations are impossible. In case of an erroneous transfer, you’ll have to get in touch with the recipient for a reversal.
The only destination for international transfers is Nigeria, the rest of the transactions on Paga are performed from within Nigeria.
To get in touch with Paga customer support, use any of the following channels.
Paga is a Nigeria-based mobile money transfer service that allows customers to receive money directly into their mobile money wallets. Overseas users can transfer money to Paga wallets using partner remittance providers such as Western Union, Moneytrans, and WorldRemit.
Apart from international transfers, customers can make P2P transfers within Nigeria to their recipient’s bank accounts, merchants’ wallets, and Paga mobile wallets. However, with regional competitors like Kenya’s M-Pesa, Cellulant, Paystack, and Flutterwave around, it helps to do a quick comparison to know who is cheap and efficient.
Our money transfer comparison tool can help customers conduct a quick analysis of the major players on this transfer route. You’ll usually find Paga’s name near the top of the list when looking for money transfer services in Nigeria, but taking a couple of minutes to compare your options can help you ensure you’re getting the best deal possible.
I really like this app so far.
It works greatly
Good day, I don’t know how they charge me both sending withdrawal.am an agent but atimes on 5700 they charge me 122.55
How much can use to do business with paga