Nigeria remittances hit record $1.57 billion
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Pmnewsnigeria
Illustrative image · MUHAMMAD MUKTAR · Pexels · Licence PexelsRemittances received in Nigeria through international operators reached a record $1.57 billion in the second quarter of 2026, up about 33% year on year. Receipts in May and June offset the decline in April, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s quarterly statistical bulletin reported by Nairametrics.
Inflows into Nigeria through international money transfer operators reached a record $1.57 billion in the second quarter of 2026, up by about 33% year on year. The figure comes from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) second-quarter statistical bulletin, as reported by Pmnewsnigeria.
This amount is the highest recorded for a second quarter since the series began in 2019. It exceeds the previous record of about $1.26 billion, set in the second quarter of 2024. Receipts reached $1.29 billion in the first quarter of 2026, compared with $888.47 million a year earlier, according to CBN data.
Remittances fell in April, to $513.81 million from $597.44 million in April 2025, before rising in May to $472.13 million and then in June to $580.16 million. The increase in the final two months more than offset the decline in April. In March 2026, the CBN asked all operators concerned to open and maintain naira settlement accounts with licensed banks in order to strengthen monitoring of transfers, according to Pmnewsnigeria.
The record came after the publication, on 21 October, of a report showing Nigerian diaspora remittances close to $1 billion. Nigerian diaspora remittances approach $1 billion had then been presented as an indicator of the growth in remittances to the country.
