AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Money sent to you from abroad can lose value in four places: the sender's fee, deductions by intermediary banks on SWIFT payments, a receiving fee on your side, and the spread on any currency conversion. The conversion spread is often the largest and the least visible, so compare what actually lands, not the advertised fee.
Where the money goes
When someone abroad sends you money, several parties can take a share before it reaches you. Not all of them apply to every payment. Knowing which one is taking what tells you which to fix.
| Cost | Who charges it | When it applies | How visible it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sending fee | The sender's bank or transfer service | Almost always | Shown to the sender |
| Intermediary (correspondent) charges | Banks in the middle of a SWIFT chain | International wires, not local payments | Often only seen when the payment lands short |
| Receiving fee | Your bank or provider | Depends on the account | Should be in the pricing guide |
| Conversion spread | Whoever converts the currency | Whenever currency changes | Hidden in the rate unless shown separately |
1. The sending fee
This is the fee the sender sees: a flat charge, a percentage, or both. It is the easiest to compare because transfer services advertise it. A low fee means little on its own if the same service gives a poor rate.
2. Intermediary bank charges
SWIFT payments often pass through one or more correspondent banks. Each can deduct a charge from the amount in transit. The sender usually chooses one of three charging options:
- OUR
- The sender pays all charges, including intermediaries. The full amount should arrive, though this is not always certain.
- SHA
- Shared. The sender pays their bank's fee; intermediary and receiving charges come out of the amount sent. This is the most common default.
- BEN
- The beneficiary pays everything; all charges come out of the amount.
Payments made through a local system in the sender's own country, such as a UK bank transfer to local pound details, do not pass through a correspondent chain, so this cost usually disappears. See SWIFT vs local payment rails.
3. Receiving fees
Some Nigerian banks charge to receive an inward foreign transfer or to maintain a foreign currency account. Ask for the bank's pricing guide; banks publish these in line with the CBN's guide to charges. A multicurrency provider should show its receiving fees, if any, in the app or on its website.
4. The conversion spread
If the money is converted from pounds, dollars or euros into naira, whoever converts it sets the rate. The difference between that rate and the mid-market or official reference rate is the spread, and it can cost more than every fee combined. Our guide to hidden FX margins shows how to measure it, and why the pound-to-naira rate differs from the headline explains the gap.
Worked example: $500 from Houston
Example only; every figure is invented to show the mechanics. Ngozi's uncle sends her $500.
| Route | What happens | What Ngozi gets |
|---|---|---|
| A. SWIFT wire, SHA, to a domiciliary account | Sender pays a sending fee; an intermediary deducts $20; her bank charges $10 on receipt | $470 in dollars |
| B. Remittance service paying naira | Sender pays a small fee; the service converts at ₦1,480 when a reference rate is ₦1,520 | ₦740,000, which is ₦20,000 less than $500 at the reference rate |
| C. US domestic transfer to her local USD details | No intermediary; no conversion yet | $500 in dollars; she converts later when she chooses, seeing the rate and fee first |
Route C does not make conversion free. If she later converts, she pays a spread or fee then. The difference is that she sees it, chooses the moment, and can choose not to convert at all if she will spend the dollars abroad.
How to check what you actually paid
After any transfer, do a quick calculation. It takes two minutes and tells you whether the route is worth keeping.
- Note what the sender paid in total, including their fee, in their currency.
- Note what landed in your account, in whatever currency it landed in.
- If it landed in naira, divide the naira by the amount the sender paid. That is your effective rate, after every fee and spread.
- Compare that effective rate with a reference rate for the same day. The gap, as a percentage, is the true cost of the route.
Example only: if the sender paid $510 in total and you received ₦744,600, your effective rate is ₦1,460 per dollar. Against a reference rate of ₦1,520, the route cost about 4%.
How to cut the cost
- Receive in the sender's currency, so conversion happens once, on your terms.
- Give local details where you have them, so the sender avoids SWIFT.
- If SWIFT is unavoidable, ask the sender to choose OUR for larger amounts and check what their bank charges for it.
- Compare the amount you receive across two or three routes for the same sum, on the same day.
- Bundle small transfers into fewer larger ones if each transfer has a flat fee.
- Keep the transfer confirmations; if an amount is short, they show who deducted what.
Where Pryme fits
A Pryme Personal Account gives you local USD, GBP and EUR details, so senders in those currency areas can pay through their domestic systems, and the money stays in the currency it arrived in. When you convert, Swap shows the rate first and the fee on its own line, and nothing happens until you approve. The account can be opened from any country; see multicurrency.
Questions people ask
Why did my dollar transfer arrive short?
Usually because an intermediary bank deducted a charge on a SWIFT payment, or your bank charged a receiving fee. Ask the sender for the transfer confirmation to see which charging option they used.
What is the cheapest way to receive money from abroad in Nigeria?
Generally, receiving in the sender's currency through local details in their country, then converting only when you need naira. Compare the final amount, not the advertised fee.
What do OUR, SHA and BEN mean on a transfer?
They say who pays the charges. OUR means the sender pays all; SHA means charges are shared; BEN means the recipient pays all, deducted from the amount.
Do Nigerian banks charge to receive foreign transfers?
Some do, and some charge for maintaining a domiciliary account. Ask for your bank's pricing guide, which banks publish in line with the CBN's guide to charges.
Sources
- CBN: Foreign Exchange Manual, 4th Edition (2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Mondaq: Key regulatory update in Nigeria, the CBN Foreign Exchange Manual 2026 · accessed Oct 2026
- CBN: Guide to Charges by Banks and Other Financial Institutions · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.