Your client's dollars landed on Tuesday, payroll is due on Friday, and you converted everything the moment it arrived, at a rate you didn't choose. A Nigerian business can avoid that by holding USD in a Verto multi-currency wallet and converting to naira only when it needs to. Here is how one business example puts that into practice, problem by problem, with a checklist you can apply to your own business.
The business example: a Lagos agency paid in three currencies
Imagine a creative agency in Lagos with clients in London and New York. This is a composite scenario, not a real Verto client. Each month it earns in dollars and pounds, pays freelancers in Nairobi in shillings, pays for software in dollars, and runs payroll and rent in naira.
Until recently, every foreign payment it received was converted to naira on arrival. When it needed dollars for software or shillings for freelancers, it converted back again. The finance lead knew money was leaking, but couldn't see where.
Here is what changed, one problem at a time.
Problem one: converting everything on arrival
The agency's first fix was to stop converting by default. It opened a Verto business account and, as a Nigerian business, started with a USD wallet and an NGN wallet side by side. It added a GBP wallet for its London clients from the Wallets page.
Its clients now pay into Local Account details in the agency's name: USD over ACH in the US and GBP over Faster Payments in the UK. The money lands in full in the matching wallet and stays in that currency. Nothing is converted until the agency decides. You can read how this compares with a bank route in our guide to getting a dollar account without a domiciliary account.
Problem two: every dollar in one pot
With all its dollars in one balance, the agency kept spending money already set aside for software renewals and tax. So it split its dollars into separate wallets.
Verto lets you open several wallets in the same currency. The agency now runs three USD wallets: one for software and subscriptions, one for tax and one as a reserve. Its finance lead can see at a glance what is free to convert and what is already committed.
Problem three: payroll on a fixed date, rates that move
Naira payroll is due on the same day every month, but the exchange rate moves daily. Converting the day before payroll left the agency exposed to whatever the rate happened to be.
It now uses two tools. Exchange Now converts between wallets at a live rate, 24/7, 365 days a year, so it can convert part of its payroll needs early in the week if the rate looks good. Exchange Deal locks a rate for 24 hours, which it uses for large payments when it wants the exact naira amount fixed before committing.
Once converted, naira is paid out to staff and landlords in Nigeria over NIBSS Instant Payment, the country's real-time interbank network.
Problem four: paying freelancers in Kenya
The agency's Nairobi freelancers used to receive dollars by international wire and lose part of every payment to their own bank's conversion. Now the agency converts to KES and pays them in shillings, in their local currency.
Because Verto lets you hold 27 currencies, the agency keeps a small KES balance for its regular freelancer payments. It converts once a month instead of on every invoice. The freelancers receive the full amount they invoiced, in shillings, and the agency has become a client they prioritise.
Problem five: who can see and move money
As the agency grew, more people needed to see balances, but fewer needed to move money. Verto lets it give team members read-only access to view balances and transactions, or read-and-write access to add wallets and manage money.
Its accountant has read-only access for month-end. Only the finance lead and the managing director can convert or pay out.
What it costs a Nigerian business
Verto's Nigeria plans apply to companies registered in Nigeria: Free at $0 a month, Lite at $15 and Emerging at $35, with Enterprise priced on request. FX is priced by currency band, up to 2% for exotic currencies depending on plan, and transfers between Verto wallets are free. See Verto's Nigeria pricing for current figures.
The bigger saving is the conversions the agency no longer makes. Dollars spent on software never touch naira, and payroll is converted on its own timing.
How Nigeria's rules fit in
Holding dollars with a licensed provider sits alongside Nigeria's banking rules rather than replacing them. The CBN's revised Foreign Exchange Manual, reported in June 2026, confirmed unrestricted access to funds in ordinary domiciliary accounts. Some businesses keep both: a domiciliary account for bank products, and a Verto wallet for receiving and paying. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Verto has licences and approvals in eight countries, including the UK, the US and Nigeria. See Verto's licences page.
A checklist for your own business
To apply the same approach:
List every currency you receive and pay in, and how often.
Open a Verto account and add a wallet for each currency, plus separate wallets for committed funds.
Share Local Account details with your overseas clients.
Set a simple conversion rule: what you hold, what you convert, and when.
Give your team the access they need, and no more.
Earning in dollars shouldn't mean converting on someone else's timing. Open your Verto account to collect, hold, convert and pay in one place. Get started or speak to Verto sales about your currencies. See how Verto's Multi-currency Wallets work, or learn more about Local Accounts.
Hold USD and convert to naira only when you need to
Share this article
