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Caleb is a Software Engineer working remotely in Nigeria for European companies. In this chat, he shares how experimenting with other foreign payment platforms, like Wise, drained him before he finally moved to Grey.

Hello, let’s start by sharing a little bit about yourself.

My name is Caleb, and I work remotely for a European company as a Backend Engineer. I’ve worked here for just over a year.

Is this your first foreign job?

Not at all. This isn’t my first foreign job. I’ve been a software engineer for almost six years, and it’s all I’ve done in my career. But I’ve been earning in foreign currencies for about two to three years now. 

Interesting. Well, we aren’t that old, which means you have been receiving foreign currencies well before Grey.

Oh yes. I used Nigerian Domiciliary accounts. Then I experimented with other foreign platforms like Payoneer and Wise. 

These are well-established platforms. What made you stop using them?

For DOM accounts, it was how easy receiving money and converting it to Naira was on Grey. That’s what made me move completely. I could still convert currencies with my domiciliary account, but it takes about 3 days to receive the payment. With Grey, it takes only a few hours. 

I didn’t really like the user experience on Payoneer. It wasn’t exactly smooth. 

Wise was a good option because I could do p2p, crypto and get good rates. But the entire process was just draining. Because I’d have to use three different platforms to convert and receive payments. At least with Grey, everything is in one place.

Wow, that’s a lot. Did you face any restrictions on these sites because of your location?

Of course. On Wise, the cards are unavailable in Nigeria because they are tied to physical cards. It was a big issue for me with Wise. Then other platforms like Paypal have several restrictions. Crypto really is the only option accessible to Africans, and even that….. you know.

Ah, we know. So how did you find out about Grey?

A friend o. I was having issues with receiving payments at the time. They recommended Grey, and it has stuck since then. Fun fact, I started using Grey in 2021… back when you guys were Aboki Africa. 

A Day One User! 

See, I’ve referred everyone around me that has had issues with receiving payments from their employees.

We love to see it. What do you like the most since our rebrand to Grey?

When I started, foreign accounts weren’t a thing. So I’d say introducing foreign accounts in the three major currencies. Recently it will be the virtual cards. It’s been a long one coming.

Lol, we agree. Since you are a software engineer, if you were on the Grey team, what feature would you love to implement?

That’s an interesting question. A feature I’d push for would be reliability. Maybe a dashboard so users can see status updates on the platform. So these downtime notifications will reduce support requests and prevent users from being stranded.

Another thing I’d do - which may be biased because I’m a customer, would be to lower the rates.

Ha ha ha. We feel you on this one… As a senior engineer, do you have any advice for upcoming engineers?

My advice would be for them to master the fundamentals as much as possible. Once the fundamentals are solid, you can branch out anywhere. 

They should also build stuff they can show off. Engage in many open-source projects, find one that interests you, and devote yourself to it. Finally, don’t give up the road ahead can be tough.

Thank you! If you were not a software engineer, what do you think you would have been?

I’d probably be an investment banker or a footballer. I used to play football really well, but in Nigeria, no one really puts in the effort to go so far when you’re young.

Enjoyed the read? Join over 200,000 remote workers solving their foreign payment hassles with Grey. Start by opening a free account here.