Trusted by 3M+ people around the world
GOOGLE PLAY •22K REVIEWS
APP STORE • 12K REVIEWS
How Nigerian senders fund people in Ethiopia
Addis hosts the African Union and the continent's busiest airline hub, and Africans posted there operate in dollars. Local bank payout isn't available on this route from Lagos, so Grey runs it Grey-to-Grey. Your recipient holds a free Grey account with a USD balance. You send to their GreyTag from Nigeria.
The dollars arrive instantly and free. They spend by virtual card at the African Union and ECA, Addis Ababa University and most merchants, or withdraw as stablecoin.
How sending to Ethiopia works
Sign up
You open Grey in Nigeria with your NIN slip, BVN or international passport. Your recipient opens Grey in Ethiopia with their passport or local ID. Both take a few minutes.
Fund
Any NGN top-up works: bank transfer from any Nigerian bank. Regular senders to Addis Ababa usually keep a small balance ready.
Send
Type the recipient's GreyTag, choose the dollar amount, and confirm the NGN to USD rate. That's the whole process from Lagos.
What this route costs
Card payments in Addis Ababa convert at the point of sale. Your recipient sees the exact dollar amount deducted for each purchase, at the African Union and ECA or a corner shop. You see the NGN cost of what you sent from Lagos.
Rate fixed at confirmation
The NGN to USD rate you accept in Lagos is the rate applied. Whatever happens afterwards, the dollar balance your recipient receives doesn't change.
For a monthly allowance in Addis Ababa, that means the same dollar figure every time.
Why a Grey-to-Grey transfer beats a wire here
A dollar wire from Lagos to a bank in Addis Ababa takes days, attracts a receiving fee, and then converts at the bank's rate. A GreyTag transfer lands in seconds, costs nothing, and your recipient spends dollars directly at the African Union and ECA or anywhere else. For anyone living in Ethiopia on money from abroad, the card is the bank.
What your recipient gets in Ethiopia
Dollars in their own Grey account, instantly, sent from Lagos. They spend on a Grey virtual card at the African Union and ECA, Addis Ababa University, shops, restaurants and online. They can also hold USD, EUR or GBP balances, or convert to USDC and withdraw to a wallet of their choice.
Grey virtual card
Rain Visa or Miden Mastercard, accepted across Addis Ababa and online.
Hold in dollars
Keep the balance in USD and spend as needed. No forced conversion.
Stablecoin withdrawal
Convert to USDC and withdraw to an external wallet when local cash is needed.
How to fund
Nigerians top up in naira by bank transfer from GTBank, Access, Zenith, UBA or any other Nigerian bank, and the balance usually shows within minutes. Anyone paid in dollars by a foreign client can send from that USD balance and skip the naira leg. Convert to dollars, then the GreyTag step to Addis Ababa is free.
Top up once
Move a month's worth of naira in and send to Addis Ababa as needed.
Earn in foreign currency?
Send from that balance and avoid a double conversion.
Convert on the due date
Hold naira, convert to USD when the payment is actually due.
A monthly allowance to Addis Ababa is simplest with a standing balance and the recipient's GreyTag saved.
Who sends from Nigeria to Ethiopia
AU and UN staff
Family support for those posted to the African Union, ECA and agencies in Addis.
Students
Allowances for students at Addis Ababa University and regional institutes.
Conference travellers
Topping up your own Grey card before an AU summit or ECA event.
Diaspora families
Support for relatives in Addis, Bahir Dar, Hawassa and Dire Dawa.
Lagos and Abuja are the sending hubs. Nigerians pay tuition, suppliers and family abroad, and a growing number earn in dollars from foreign clients. On this route it's mostly people supporting someone who's physically in Addis Ababa: students at Addis Ababa University, patients, posted staff and long-stay residents. All of them can hold a Grey account there.
Why Grey for Nigeria to Ethiopia
Ethiopia isn't a bank-payout corridor for Grey, from Lagos or anywhere else. It's a Grey-to-Grey corridor, and for students at Addis Ababa University, patients and posted staff in Addis Ababa that's the faster, cheaper option anyway.
Rate and fee shown before you convert in Lagos. Dollars land in your recipient's Grey account in Addis Ababa instantly. No local bank payout on this route.
Get digital banking
at your fingertips
