Grey alternatives in Nigeria

The main Grey alternatives for receiving dollars in Nigeria are Raenest, Daya Borders, Cleva, LemFi and Chipper Cash. Daya Borders takes 0% on incoming dollars and euros with no cap, against 0.8% (up to $10) at Grey. Raenest charges a flat $2 or $4 per ACH payment, and LemFi charges nothing today.

Every fee on this page came off each company's own pricing or help pages on 22 September 2026. If you're still working out how to take foreign payments at all, how to get paid by international clients in Nigeria covers the whole picture before you narrow it down to one app.

Why do people look for a Grey alternative?

People usually leave Grey over cost or over a payment that got stuck, and it's worth knowing which one is yours before you pick a replacement. Grey has a 3.8 out of 5 rating from more than 4,000 reviews on Trustpilot, so plenty of people are happy with it. These are the complaints that come up most:

• The receiving fee adds up. Grey's fees and charges page lists 0.8% on every ACH deposit, with a $2 minimum and a $10 maximum. If a client pays you $1,000 twice a month, that's $16 a month gone before you convert anything.
• Wires are expensive on small payments. Grey charges $20 flat to receive a wire, which is 10% of a $200 payment.
• Converting costs another 1%. Grey charges a 1% fee to convert to naira, capped at $6 on major currency pairs, then ₦35 to withdraw to a Nigerian bank.
• A payment got held. Recent one-star reviews on Trustpilot describe deposits held during compliance checks, and support replies that ask for another 24 to 48 hours without saying what's wrong.

What do Grey alternatives charge to receive dollars?

Daya Borders and LemFi charge nothing to receive dollars. Raenest charges a flat $2 under $500 and $4 from $500, Cleva charges 0.8% capped at $5, Grey 0.8% capped at $10, and Chipper Cash 0.75% with no cap. Wires range from free at Daya Borders to $25 at Chipper Cash.

The fees behind this table are on Grey's fees page, Raenest's Nigeria fees article, the Daya Borders page, Cleva's pricing page, LemFi's Global Account terms and Chipper Cash's USD account FAQ.

The live comparison above shows the naira each app gives you for a dollar right now, including Grey. Receiving fees are only half of what a payment costs you. The other half is the rate you convert at, and that moves every day, so check it on the day you convert.

How much of a $1,000 payment do you keep with each app?

On a $1,000 ACH payment, Daya Borders and LemFi leave you with the full $1,000 before conversion. Raenest leaves $996, Cleva $995, Grey $992 and Chipper Cash $992.50. The gap is small on one payment and bigger over a year of invoices.

Here's the same sum on a $5,000 payment, where the caps start to matter:

• LemFi: $5,000, as long as its terms still show no fee.
• Daya Borders: $5,000, because there's no fee and no cap.
• Raenest: $4,996, a flat $4.
• Cleva: $4,995, because its fee stops at $5.
• Grey: $4,990, because its fee stops at $10.
• Chipper Cash: $4,962.50, because 0.75% has no cap.

If you're paid by wire, the numbers shift again. A $5,000 wire costs nothing at Daya Borders, $10 at Raenest and Cleva, $20 at Grey and $25 at Chipper Cash.

Where does Daya Borders fit as a Grey alternative?

Daya Borders gives you US and euro account details in your own name and takes 0% on incoming dollar and euro payments, with no cap and no conditions. If a client sends $1,000, your balance goes up by $1,000. You can hold the dollars and convert when you choose, then withdraw to any Nigerian bank account.

The Daya Borders page lists Upwork, Deel and Payoneer as platforms you can withdraw from with those details, along with any client who can pay into a US or European bank account.

Daya Borders doesn't give you GBP account details. If a UK client pays you in pounds, Grey, Raenest or LemFi will still cover that client. For dollar and euro income, Daya Borders is the only app in this comparison that charges nothing to receive both.

Is Raenest a good Grey alternative?

Raenest, which used to be called Geegpay, suits people who get fewer, bigger payments. Raenest charges a flat $2 on an ACH payment under $500 and $4 from $500, a flat $10 on a wire, and 0.8% on pounds and euros, with a £1.50 or €1.50 minimum and a £10 or €10 maximum.

A flat fee works in your favour as payments get bigger. On a $2,000 invoice, Raenest's $4 works out at 0.2%. On a $100 payment, the $2 fee is 2%. Raenest's conversion fees article says the fee varies by currency and is shown before you confirm a conversion.

Is Cleva cheaper than Grey?

Cleva is cheaper than Grey on ACH payments above $625, and the same below that. Cleva and Grey both charge 0.8% with a $2 minimum, but Cleva's fee stops at $5 while Grey's keeps rising to $10 at $1,250. Cleva also charges nothing on deposits from Upwork, and $10 on a wire against Grey's $20.

The catch is currencies. Cleva holds your balance in US dollars only, so pounds and euros are converted to dollars when they arrive, at 0.8% with a $2 minimum and a $10 maximum. If Cleva is on your shortlist, Cleva alternatives in Nigeria covers why people move off it too.

Should you switch from Grey to LemFi?

LemFi's Global Account charges no fees today to receive or convert money, according to LemFi's Global Account terms, though the same terms keep the right to add fees later. LemFi launched the Global Account for people living in Nigeria in December 2025, with USD and GBP account details.

Two things decide whether LemFi works for you:

• You need an international passport. LemFi's help centre lists a valid international passport as a requirement, along with BVN verification, a Nigerian phone number and a Nigerian address.
• There are no euro details. A client paying you in euros by bank transfer has nowhere to send it.

LemFi alternatives in Nigeria goes through the same comparison from LemFi's side.

What about Chipper Cash?

Chipper Cash costs more than Grey to receive dollars into. Chipper Cash's Nigeria USD account FAQ lists 0.75% on incoming ACH payments with no cap, $25 on a wire, a $1.50 monthly maintenance fee and ₦5,000 to open the account.

The monthly fee alone is $18 a year before a single payment arrives. Chipper Cash makes most sense if you already use it for something else and only get the occasional dollar payment.

What if you use Grey for its virtual card?

If the card is the main reason you use Grey, compare card fees separately from receiving fees, because the cheapest app to get paid into isn't always the cheapest card. These are the card fees each company lists:

• Grey: $5 to create a card, $1 each time you fund it, and 2% plus $0.50 on cross-border transactions, from Grey's fees page.
• Raenest: $3 to create, free to fund, $0.70 per transaction, $0.40 if a payment is declined for low balance, and 2% plus $0.40 at international merchants, from Raenest's card charges article.
• Cleva: $3 to create, no funding fee because the card spends from your wallet, $0.80 per transaction, and 2% plus $0.80 at international merchants, from Cleva's card pricing.

Receiving and spending don't have to happen in the same app, so it's worth pricing each job on its own.

How do you move from Grey without missing a payment?

Most lost payments during a switch happen because a client pays into old details. Doing it in this order avoids that:

1. Open the new account and finish verification before you need it. Verification is the slow part, so don't start it the day an invoice is due.
2. Ask one client or platform you already use to send a small payment to the new details first.
3. Update your details on each platform one at a time. For Upwork, how to withdraw money from Upwork in Nigeria walks through adding US account details.
4. Send regular clients the new details in writing, and check that the name on the account matches the name on your invoices.
5. Convert and withdraw anything left in Grey, then keep the account open until every client has paid into the new one at least once.