There’s a particular shade of panic that happens when you need something urgently in a foreign country. It’s the moment when your card, the same one that works in your country, decides to throw a tantrum at a restaurant in Nigeria just as you are about to pay for meal you just had.
The machine beeps. Once. Twice. Three times.
TRANSACTION DECLINED.
You’ve been sold a beautiful lie that your bank cards are “globally accepted” and here’s what they don’t tell you: payment infrastructure isn’t universal, it’s patchy. And some of the patchiest places happen to be some of the most vibrant, opportunity-rich destinations on earth.
So, what do most travellers do? They improvise. Badly.
Some withdraw a lot of foreign cash and head to the airport bureau de change when they land in their destination country, and are being charged way too much on exchange rates.
They try using international money transfer apps, only to discover that “instant” transfers can take three days or more, and charge fees are very expensive.
Let me tell you about Oliver. British Nigerian, works in fintech (ironically), hasn’t visited home the past decades but then decided to visit home.
Last December, she landed at Murtala Muhammed changed her dollars.
Day three in Nigeria, the money she withdrew had finished because she had to tip off her cousins and family she hadn’t seen in a while. She goes on a lunch date with her younger siblings at a fancy restaurant, trying to pay for lunch but her card declined after so many trials.
She ends up borrowing money from her cousin.
A fintech professional, borrowing money to pay for jollof rice.
“That was my moment,” she told me later. “I thought, there has to be a better way.
Here’s what Oliver does now: before she even boards the plane at Heathrow, she opens an app called Getly. She’s got three things sorted:
A Naira wallet funded with local currency (funded seamlessly from her UK bank account at fair rate). A physical Naira debit card waiting for her on arrival. An eSIM that connects her to local mobile data the second she lands.
Now when she lands in Lagos, she pays like a local, her card works at that petrol station, at the restaurant, at the fabric market, everywhere.
Also, the same eSIM that works in Nigeria? It works in 150 countries.
The best move
The next time you’re visiting Nigeria, ask yourself this: am I going to spend my energy fighting payment systems, or am I going to sort this out before I board the plane?
Ready to travel smarter? Download on playstore or visit travel.getly.app and sort your connectivity and local payments before you even pack your bag.
Twitter: Link to Getly’s Twitter
Instagram: Link to Getly’s Instagram
WhatsApp: Link to Getly WhatsApp
We’re here to assist you every step of the way.
Purchase your eSIM now before you travel and stay connected instantly the moment you arrive your destination country!