Customers in key European countries can now send money in minutes directly to their Naira bank accounts in Nigeria, thanks to a new initiative by MoneyGram. The global funds transfer company Tuesday announced it is the first money transfer company to offer customers in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain a way to send money to most personal Nigerian Naira bank accounts within minutes. However, timing of funds availability depends on destination country and is subject to banking hours and compliance with regulatory requirements.

“This is a significant milestone for us. With the addition of Nigeria, MoneyGram now offers bank account deposits through our network into five of the world’s largest remittance receive markets — Nigeria, China, India, Mexico and the Philippines,” says Herve Chomel, MoneyGram’s regional vice president for Africa. “Account deposit is a fast and secure way to send and receive funds between loved ones and we are proud to offer the service for our customers in Europe and Nigeria.”

Customers can send money to most of the personal accounts held at banks that are members of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System network including First Bank, UBA, Ecobank, Fidelity, and Zenith Bank from MoneyGram agent locations in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain.

This marks an important innovation for the remittance industry in Nigeria. By integrating into the Nigerian Inter-Bank Payment System, MoneyGram customers are able to send money into most bank accounts in Nigeria, almost in real time*. Receivers do not have to undertake any action as the funds are automatically deposited into their account and can be accessed via ATM’s or online, without the constraint of a physical over-the-counter visit.