Apr 24, 2024
Swap currencies without leaving your house.
When I started freelancing, my first thought was, “How am I going to collect my money now?”
Initially, I signed up for Payoneer, which I still use. But when I say I was depressed after the first two months, I’m not exaggerating. I was like, “Jesus, what a life.” And what a life it was!
“This can’t be the same exchange rate these freelancers are using to live the soft life,” I remember thinking. So, I spoke to a few people. It seemed like all roads led to opening a domiciliary account. I hated the idea of going to the bank.
Moreover, if I decided to open a domiciliary account, the process of actually getting my desired rate (the black market rate, hush!) would take too long. I wanted to bypass the middleman—the Nigerian banking system. I wanted better rates, and I didn’t want to leave my house.
So, I was stuck.
How would I get the rates I knew would soften my life on the terms I wanted?
And to be honest, the answer/solution fell into my lap about two months later.
I was reading a newsletter one random Tuesday morning when the author, who’s also a freelancer, mentioned Grey.
“Which one is Grey again?” I thought.
Anyway, I did what I do best: I conducted extensive research, which simply entails typing Grey into Google’s search bar. Please, research is research :)
This is what popped up:
If you have a hard time finding them, search for Grey Finance or Grey.co
Or head to the app store and download the app.
How do I create a virtual bank account on Grey Finance?
To use Grey, you must first sign up for an account and then open a virtual bank account number.
Grey provides virtual bank accounts in USD, EUR, and GBP, and the process for opening all virtual accounts is the same.
A step-by-step guide to opening a virtual bank account on Grey:
Create an account.
Verify your email.
Complete your account verification.
Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Click on the Complete Verification button, and you’ll be redirected to this page:
Click the Start button
Search for Nigeria
You’ll have to choose a document to use for your verification. You can choose any of the following:
Upload your selected document
Record a short video of yourself. This video helps verify that the document you uploaded is yours.
It’ll take a few days for your account to be verified.
After verification, you can link your USD account to your Upwork account or any other freelance platform. You can also share your account details with your clients.
Follow these steps to create EUR and GBP virtual IBANs.
How much do Grey’s transaction fees cost?
Grey transaction fees vary. When receiving USD payments, ACH transfers incur a 1% fee, whereas SWIFT/WIRE transfers incur a 1% + $50 fee. EUR and GBP payments are also subject to a 1% fee.
So, if you send $200 to your virtual account via ACH transfer, you will receive $198. That’s pretty reasonable considering you’ll be getting the most recent black-market rate.
How to Convert Foreign Currency to Nigerian Naira on Grey
My favorite thing about Grey is how easy it is to use their platform. Here’s a quick rundown of how to swap currencies:
Open the homepage. If you’re using the web, it should look like this:
Select the currency you want to convert to naira — I chose EUR. Next, click on “Swap (currency).”
Fill out the form that appears on the page, and click Proceed.
Note: The balance to transfer should be the NGN balance. Create beneficiaries, which should be your Nigerian bank account.
How long will it take for the funds to be deposited into my Nigerian bank account?
The longest I’ve had to wait was 24 hours, which is rare. It usually only takes a few minutes or a few hours.
What can they do better?
I’ve been using Grey for a year, and my top complaint is the slow customer service. They can do more and provide better service to customers.
Another issue I have is that they appear to be still looking for a suitable partner for their USD accounts. As someone who receives payments in USD, it’s a time-consuming process to use Payoneer to receive funds and then convert them to EUR. I’d like to see the app support a more seamless USD payment flow.
(Update: They now have a stable partner for their USD account. You can create an account and get a dollar card.
Have you tried Grey? What do you think?
