NigeriaTL;DR: For employees, no: statutory salary in Nigeria must be paid in naira, to a Nigerian bank account. For contractors, yes: they can invoice you in USD and keep the money in dollars. On Shor, contractors hold their earnings in USD and withdraw to naira same-day when they choose, with a flat disclosed 2% FX applied only when money actually converts, for $19/month per contractor.
Nigeria has one of the deepest English-speaking tech talent pools in the world, and after what the naira went through since 2023, almost every Nigerian contractor you talk to will ask the same first question: can you pay me in dollars? Here's what's actually allowed, and how to set it up.
The short answer
It depends on one thing: is this person an employee or a contractor?
Employees: no. Nigerian statutory salary must be paid in naira (NGN) to a Nigerian bank account, on a registered monthly payroll with pension, NSITF, and the other statutory contributions attached. That's labor law, not a provider limitation.
Contractors: yes. An independent contractor invoices you as a business. That invoice can be denominated in USD, and how the contractor holds or converts the money afterward is their business decision.
The classification has to be genuine, though. Reclassifying someone who works like an employee as a contractor so you can pay them in dollars swaps a currency question for a misclassification problem, which is a far more expensive one.
Why USD pay matters in Nigeria
Two numbers explain the Nigerian preference for dollar pay.
The first is the naira itself. Before Nigeria floated its currency in June 2023, the official rate was about NGN 465 to the dollar. As of August 17, 2026 it trades around NGN 1,358 to the dollar on the official window and about NGN 1,420 on the parallel market. Someone who earned in naira across that stretch watched their income lose roughly two thirds of its dollar value, through no fault of their own.
Worth saying plainly, because it cuts against the usual framing: 2026 has been a year of stability rather than decline. The naira has held in a narrow range through August and appreciated against the dollar in parts of the month, supported by external reserves that reached $52.19 billion on August 12, 2026, their highest in 17 years. The case for dollar pay in Nigeria today is not that the naira is collapsing, because right now it is not. It is that contractors carry the memory of 2023 and 2024 and reasonably want the option.
The second is inflation. It has cooled substantially, and it is still high: the National Bureau of Statistics reported headline inflation of 15.91% year-on-year in June 2026, down from 15.93% in May, with the 12-month average at 17.63% versus 29.82% a year earlier. Better, clearly. But money sitting in naira still loses purchasing power month over month, and food inflation runs hotter than the headline.
None of this is an argument that dollars are an investment. It's a purchasing-power point: a contractor paid a USD rate keeps the value of their work intact until the day they choose to spend it, instead of absorbing depreciation between invoice and payday. For you, the employer, it also means predictable costs and a retention edge; in this market, currency is part of compensation.
Paying employees in Nigeria: what the law requires
If you hire a Nigerian employee (directly or through an employer of record), salary is paid in naira to a Nigerian bank account, with PAYE withheld and pension and other statutory contributions remitted. Our Nigeria country guide covers the full employer math, including the roughly 12-15% statutory load and the new tax act's PAYE bands.
The compliant way to address the currency concern for employees is not to pay them in dollars. It's to pay a naira salary and index compensation reviews to a USD reference on a regular schedule, so the employee's real income doesn't quietly erode between reviews. Given where Nigerian inflation still sits, annual reviews are too slow; semi-annual or quarterly is closer to fair. Statutory rules change, so confirm the details with your accountant.
Paying contractors in Nigeria in USD
For genuine contractors, USD pay is straightforward, and Nigeria is one of the best corridors we operate. On Shor it works like this:
- Contractors invoice in USD or naira, their choice. Contracts, W-8BEN collection, and invoicing are built in.
- The money stays in USD. No forced conversion on arrival. Many platforms convert a "USD payment" to naira the moment it lands, at whatever rate they applied that day, which protects the contractor for exactly zero days. Holding is the feature.
- They withdraw to naira when they choose, over local rails, same-day. Rent in naira this week, the rest staying in dollars until it's needed.
- Conversion costs a flat disclosed 2%, shown before the money moves, and only when money actually converts.
- For you: $19/month per contractor. No setup fees, month-to-month.
The full employer-side case (retention, predictable costs, why the ability to hold dollars matters more than the invoice currency) is in our guide to paying international contractors in USD.
FAQ
Can I pay employees in Nigeria in USD? No. Statutory salary must be paid in naira to a Nigerian bank account, with PAYE and statutory contributions handled on registered payroll. The compliant alternative is a naira salary with regular USD-referenced compensation reviews.
Can I pay contractors in Nigeria in USD? Yes. Independent contractors can invoice a foreign client in USD, and most Nigerian contractors prefer it. On Shor they invoice in USD, keep the money in dollars, and withdraw to naira same-day when they choose.
Do Nigerian contractors have to convert to naira as soon as they're paid? Not on Shor. There's no forced conversion on arrival; the contractor holds their balance in USD and converts on their own timing, at a flat disclosed 2% shown before the money moves.
Does paying a Nigerian contractor in USD cost me more? No. It's the same $19/month per contractor, and the 2% FX applies only when the contractor converts to naira, which is their choice and effectively their side of the transaction.