Recovering export payments in Nigeria is a common concern for exporters who’ve shipped goods or provided services but are struggling to get paid. Between cross-border regulations, banking requirements, and buyer risk, it’s an area where a structured process makes all the difference.

Below is a practical guide on how to recover export payments in Nigeria, reduce exposure to bad debt, and strengthen your future export deals.

Understanding the challenge: why export payments fail in Nigeria

Before you can successfully recover export payments in Nigeria, it helps to understand why they go wrong:

• Weak payment terms – open account arrangements with little security

• Documentation gaps – discrepancies in invoices, bills of lading, NXP forms, or contracts

• Regulatory and FX issues – delays in repatriating export proceeds through Nigerian banks

• Buyer insolvency or disputes – buyers using quality issues or market changes to delay or avoid payment

For FMCG, industrial goods, and wholesale shipments, even a single unpaid consignment can severely impact cash flow. That’s why exporters need a mix of preventive controls and recovery strategies.

Key steps to recover export payments in Nigeria

1. Start with contract and documentation review

The first step to recover export payments in Nigeria is to check the strength of your paperwork:

• Export sales contract and Incoterms

• Proforma and commercial invoices

• Shipping documents (bill of lading, packing list, certificate of origin)

• NXP form and any regulatory approvals

• Evidence of delivery or receipt

Many disputes hinge on a small discrepancy—wrong product description, missing signature, or unclear payment conditions. A clean document trail gives you leverage with the buyer, their bank, and any recovery agents or legal advisers.

Wigmore Trading can support exporters by helping ensure export documentation and logistics records are consistent, accurate, and aligned with banking and regulatory requirements.

2. Engage the buyer quickly and professionally

Once you notice a delay, contact the buyer immediately:

• Send a formal payment reminder with a clear outstanding amount and due date

• Ask for written feedback if they are disputing quantity, quality, or terms

• Propose a payment plan if they are facing temporary liquidity constraints

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Polite but firm communication often resolves delays without escalation. Keep a written record of all emails and messages—this will be useful if you need to involve banks, insurers, or legal counsel later.

3. Use banking channels and trade instruments

If you used structured trade instruments, they can be powerful tools to recover export payments in Nigeria:

• Letters of Credit (LCs) – If documents comply, the bank is obliged to pay. Non-payment may be due to a documentation discrepancy or bank risk.

• Documentary Collections – If the buyer has received documents without payment, your bank may still support with follow-up and trace messages.

• Bank guarantees or standby LCs – These can be called if the buyer defaults under agreed terms.

Where possible, work through your Nigerian bank’s trade desk. They can:

• Trace payments and SWIFT messages

• Confirm whether export proceeds have been received but not yet credited

• Advise on steps if the buyer’s bank is delaying or rejecting payment

4. Explore insurance and third-party recovery options

If you insured the transaction, notify your export credit insurer or trade risk insurer immediately. They may:

• Intervene with the foreign buyer

• Support negotiation and rescheduling

• Compensate you for a portion of the unpaid amount, depending on your policy

For uninsured exposures, you may consider:

• Local agents or partners in the buyer’s country who can help follow up

• Professional debt recovery firms experienced in cross-border trade

• Mediation or arbitration if provided for in your contract

Wigmore Trading’s experience in African trade and distribution networks means it can often advise on reputable partners or local channels that help limit disputes and improve recovery prospects.

5. Consider legal routes – carefully and strategically

Legal action is often a last resort, due to cost and time. When deciding whether to litigate or pursue arbitration:

• Assess the size of the outstanding amount

• Review jurisdiction clauses in the contract

• Estimate legal costs and enforcement prospects in the buyer’s country

In some cases, a formal legal notice from a law firm is enough to trigger payment or settlement without going to court.

Preventing future export payment problems in Nigeria

Recovering overdue funds is important, but prevention is even more valuable. To reduce future risk when you export from or into Nigeria:

• Strengthen credit checks – review buyer history, trade references, and financials where available

• Use safer payment terms – deposits, LCs, or part-prepayment for new buyers

• Define clear Incoterms and dispute mechanisms in your contracts

• Standardise documentation and logistics procedures to avoid discrepancies

• Work with an experienced trade partner for sourcing, warehousing, and distribution

As a regional distributor and trading company, Wigmore Trading helps businesses design more secure trade flows: from sourcing and consolidation to export documentation, logistics coordination, and route-to-market solutions across Africa. This integrated approach reduces the likelihood of disputes and improves the predictability of payments.

How Wigmore Trading supports exporters with payment security

While Wigmore Trading does not replace legal or banking services, it can support your efforts to recover export payments in Nigeria and reduce future risk by:

• Ensuring accurate, compliant documentation and logistics records

• Structuring supply and distribution agreements more clearly

• Helping you match with more reliable buyers and partners

• Sharing practical insight on African markets, routes, and payment behaviours

By tightening operational processes and working with trusted counterparties, exporters place themselves in a stronger position—both to recover overdue funds and to avoid non-payment in the first place.

Conclusion: build stronger export payment foundations

To recover export payments in Nigeria, exporters need a blend of solid contracts, clean documentation, disciplined follow-up, and, where necessary, bank, insurance, or legal support. Just as important is investing in preventive measures: better counterparties, stronger payment terms, and reliable logistics and documentation processes.

If you are navigating these challenges, partnering with an experienced regional trading and distribution specialist can help you protect margins and maintain business continuity.

Contact Wigmore Trading today to streamline your sourcing, exports, and payment risk management.