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The short answer
Yes, but usually not with a classic UK standing order straight to a Nigerian account, because standing orders run on UK payment systems. The practical routes are a scheduled or repeat transfer inside a money transfer app, a recurring international payment if your bank offers one, or a UK standing order into your own pounds account in a multicurrency app, followed by a monthly send to Nigeria.
Supporting a parent's upkeep, a sibling's school fees or a house project means the same transfer every month. Doing it by hand is easy to forget and tempting to delay when the rate looks poor. Automating it sounds simple, but the UK and Nigerian systems do not join up the way two UK accounts do, and that shapes which options work.
Why a normal standing order does not reach Nigeria
A UK standing order is an instruction to your bank to pay a fixed amount in pounds to a UK sort code and account number on a set date. These payments travel on UK domestic schemes. Pay.UK describes those schemes (Faster Payments, Bacs and CHAPS) as domestic UK payments, which is also why name-checking through Confirmation of Payee stops at the border. A Nigerian bank account has a 10-digit NUBAN number, not a sort code, so a standing order cannot be pointed at it directly. Our guide to NUBAN numbers explains the format.
Three ways to send every month
1. A repeat or scheduled transfer in a money transfer app
Some UK money transfer apps let you save a recipient and repeat a transfer in a couple of taps, and some offer a scheduled transfer that runs on a chosen day, charging your saved card or taking money from your balance. Features differ by provider and change often, so look in the app itself under the recipient or the transfer history. Check three things: whether each scheduled transfer is priced at the rate on the day it runs, what happens if your card is declined, and whether you are asked to confirm each one.
2. A recurring international payment from your UK bank
A few UK banks let you save an international payee and repeat or schedule a SWIFT payment. Many do not. Where it exists, the bank converts pounds at its own rate and may charge a fee per payment, and intermediary banks may take a deduction on the way. For a monthly family transfer that can be a costly route; see sending to Nigeria by SWIFT from a UK bank before you set one up.
3. A standing order to your own account, then a monthly send
The most reliable automation is often split in two. You set a normal UK standing order on payday from your salary account into your own pounds account in a multicurrency app that gives you UK account details. The money is then ready, and you send it to Nigeria when you choose, often the same day. You keep control over the conversion, and the standing order itself is a plain UK payment that banks handle every day.
Limits and things that break a monthly transfer
- Provider limits. Money transfer apps set limits by country, payout method and how you pay; WorldRemit, for example, says its limits depend on these factors. A transfer that worked at one amount can be held when you raise it.
- Card expiry or a new card. A scheduled card payment fails silently if your card details change.
- Fraud checks. Regular, predictable payments are less likely to be stopped, but a sudden change of amount or recipient can trigger a hold. See why UK banks block payments to Nigeria.
- The recipient's account. A Nigerian account restricted for a missing BVN or NIN can reject or hold credits. See restricted recipient accounts.
- Naira payout only. Licensed operators pay remittances into Nigeria in naira, a rule the CBN reinforced with a circular effective 1 May 2026, according to Techeconomy.
Worked example: a fixed pound amount means a moving naira amount
An illustration only. You send £250 on the 1st of each month. If the rate you get is 2% better in March than in February, your mother receives 2% more naira in March; if it is 3% worse in April, she receives 3% less. Over a year the pound amount is £3,000 exactly, but the naira total is unknown in advance. If the person in Nigeria needs a fixed naira sum, for rent or fees, either send a little extra and agree how the surplus is kept, or quote the naira amount when you send rather than the pounds.
What to check first
- Decide whether you need a fixed pound amount or a fixed naira amount.
- Look in your current app for a repeat or scheduled transfer option, and read how the rate is set on the day.
- Ask your UK bank whether it offers recurring international payments and what each one costs.
- Confirm the recipient's account name, bank and NUBAN once, carefully, and save them.
- Diary a monthly check that the money arrived.
Where Pryme fits
With a Pryme account you get UK account details for pounds, so a standing order from your salary account can fund it each month. Your Personal Assistant can prepare the monthly transfer to Nigeria and remind you; nothing moves until you approve it, and the app shows the rate and the fee first. Outside Nigeria, Pryme's activities are carried out through regulated partners.
Questions people ask
Can I set up a standing order to a Nigerian bank account?
Not directly. UK standing orders pay UK sort codes and account numbers. Use a scheduled transfer in a money transfer app, a recurring international payment if your bank offers one, or a standing order into your own account first.
Will my monthly transfer to Nigeria always give the same naira?
No. Unless you fix the naira amount, each transfer converts at the rate on that day, so the naira received changes month to month.
Is there a limit on monthly transfers to Nigeria from the UK?
Each provider sets its own limits, which can depend on the payout method and how you pay. Check the limits in your app before you schedule a larger amount.
Do scheduled transfers get blocked by UK banks?
Regular payments to the same recipient are less likely to be stopped, but a change in amount, recipient or card can trigger a fraud check.
Sources
- Confirmation of Payee FAQs (Pay.UK, last modified 30 Mar 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Send money to Nigeria (WorldRemit) · accessed Oct 2026
- What the CBN naira-only remittance policy means (Techeconomy, 28 Mar 2026) · 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.