Many challenges may arise when pursuing academic success in countries other than Nigeria. The issue of paying all or part of one’s tuition fees from Nigeria is one of the most difficult. While in Nigeria, there are a variety of options for paying your school tuition fees to your school overseas. Most students attending institutions in Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, China, India, Canada, Europe, Australia, and other countries would pay tuition in foreign currency such as dollars, pounds, euro, and so on.
We will just cover some easy and secure methods you can use to make international payments. These alternatives are available to you whether you want to study abroad for your undergraduate (B.A., B.Sc., etc.) or postgraduate (Ph.D., M.Sc., PGD, etc.) degree.
Due to the constraints on our debit cards in Nigeria, many individuals find it difficult to make payments in foreign currencies outside of the country. In Nigeria, the monthly limit for naira debit cards is 100 USD. These payments may be made quickly through your bank or international money transfer platforms. Some of these options are cheap, while others are a little more expensive depending on the daily exchange rate utilized.
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Make use of CBN Form A, which is a statutory document mandated for this purpose, to make payments for service transactions (invisible trades) such as your tuition fees, medical bills, training courses, mortgage, and other similar payments outside of Nigeria. Form A is used to purchase funds at the CBN or interbank exchange rates for the aforementioned payments outside of Nigeria. This way of purchasing foreign currency is typically less expensive than using other international money transfer platforms, and it may be carried out using your Naira or domiciliary bank accounts.
To pay your tuition using the Form A method, you must go to your bank and obtain the Form A form, complete it, and attach supporting documents such as your admission letter, tuition invoice, passport data pages, beneficiary information, and an authorization letter for funds transfer to your account. (If you are using an online banking account to access your dorm account, you do not need to submit the money transfer permission paperwork.) According to the availability of funds and how quickly your bank can obtain forex from the CBN, the beneficiary typically receives this payment within a couple of days or as long as several weeks if you choose to use this method. Therefore, I recommend that you plan ahead of time and begin the process early if you choose to use this method.
Other international money transfer platforms, such as those provided by your school or the beneficiary, dollar cards, Flutterwave, World Remit, and so on, can be used to make these payments. However, these methods are usually more expensive because you are charged using the black market or higher exchange rates the majority of the time. You should consider using your dollar card or other foreign money transfer platforms for smaller payments and transactions such as your WES or Canada Visa application costs or other similar expenses. You can achieve this by creating an account in your name; obtaining a dollar card; funding the account by making purchases on the black market or having friends transfer money to your account, among other methods; and making payments using your dollar card or online banking.
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Specifically, I’d want to elaborate on the international money transfer platforms you can use, specifically on how to utilize the Flutterwave platform, which I’ve personally used, to pay for your WES or Canada Visa expenses, based on my personal experience. Download the Barter by Flutterwave app from the Playstore or Appstore (if you are using an Android or iPhone); register and fund your naira wallet by transferring money to your wallet account (you will be given a Wema bank account as soon as you complete your registration); go to the card section, click on the new card, and purchase a Virtual Visa Card (the card purchase fee is 2.00 USD); fund your virtual Visa Card using the funds in your naira wallet at Flutterwave fund. Although the charges on the Flutterwave platform are often high, I think that this technique is more convenient for me because I can make smaller payments.
Some also make use of payment agents. Payment agents are companies that run services by making this payment on your behalf, and their services are paid for. Some companies actually make a living off of resolving this issue faced by many Nigerians. Paying your school tuition fees overseas from Nigeria through an agency (either in Nigeria or abroad) is also a very quick and simple process. Despite the fact that there are many imposters who will simply take your money and go, there are still numerous genuine agents that may aid you. The disadvantage of this strategy is that it is a little too dangerous due to the participation of a third party.
