How to use Moneywise: a simple guide for Nigerians

Learning how to use Moneywise starts with one question: when will you need this money? This guide explains the savings options, the steps to sign up and the naira behind each example.

Get Moneywise on iPhone or Android. Start with the section you need, or read the guide from the beginning.

Your salary has already left the building

The alert comes in on the 25th, and for about eleven minutes you are the richest person in your family group chat. You pay the rent that has been staring at you since June. You send something to Mummy, because that is what love looks like in this country. You buy fuel, settle the light bill, and treat yourself to one small thing, because you have earned it. Then the cousin with the “urgent small something” calls, the school fees reminder arrives, and somehow, by the 3rd of next month, you are in the supermarket queue doing mental arithmetic and praying that the card goes through.

Nobody threw a party, and nothing big was bought. The money simply left, like a guest who said “I’m coming” and was never seen again.

How to use Moneywise: start where you are

If that is you, please hear this first. You are not bad with money. You are not lazy, and you are not unlucky. You work hard in an economy that asks a great deal of a naira, and nobody handed you a map for what to do on payday. We were taught how to earn, and almost nobody taught us how to keep and multiply. That is a gap in the teaching and not a gap in you, and a gap in the teaching can be filled.

This guide is written for the young person on a first salary, for the parent holding a whole family together, for the trader who counts cash every night, for the older person who privately wonders if it is too late, and for the one who earns well and still asks where it all goes. Whoever you are, wealth is built the same way, with small decisions repeated for a long time. Nobody becomes free in a weekend, but a great many people move from stress to peace simply by showing up, month after month, until the habit carries them.

Moneywise is Nigeria’s wealth habit app. Through one simple wallet, you get three clear places to give your money a job, which are Flexible Savings, the December Plan and WiseLock. By the end of this guide you will know the five habits that build wealth, what each Moneywise place earns in naira, how to start in about ten minutes, and which one to pick first. Every sum is shown, so you can check us with the calculator on your phone.

How to use Moneywise in four simple steps

1. Sign up and complete your details. Download Moneywise for iPhone or Android. Keep your BVN, NIN, phone number and address ready, then follow the verification prompts. Complete the required details before moving money.
2. Put money in your Wallet. Transfer to your own Moneywise account number. Once it shows as available, you can move it into a plan. A pending transfer has not settled yet.
3. Choose when you need it back. Money for an unexpected bill? Choose Flexible Savings. Preparing for December? Choose the December Plan. Have a lump sum you can leave until a set date? Choose WiseLock.
4. Check the details and start. Read the annual rate, any charge and when you can withdraw, then confirm an amount you can afford to leave there. You do not have to begin with all your money. Begin with a decision you can keep.

Your Wallet is the starting point. It earns no interest. Move money into a savings plan when you want it to grow, and back to your Wallet when the plan allows you to withdraw.

Which Moneywise plan fits your money?

Rent money, December money and emergency money have different jobs. So choose by when you need access, then compare the rate.

Your money is for	Choose	Start from	Annual rate and access
An urgent bill or money you may need any day	Flexible Savings	₦1,000	13% a year. Withdraw to your Wallet any day, the same day.
December spending and getting January ready	December Plan	₦10,000 in total each month	16% a year in qualifying months, 13% in missed months. No early or partial withdrawals.
A lump sum you can leave until a set date	WiseLock	₦50,000	18% a year, fixed when confirmed. Terms of 30 days, 3, 6 or 12 months.

A year is a year. Saving for one month does not earn a full year’s interest. The naira examples below show how the days count. Flexible Savings and December Plan rates can change with notice; an existing WiseLock keeps its confirmed rate.

Five habits for building wealth

Think about somebody whose salary keeps increasing, yet month-end still brings borrowing. A bigger income needs a better plan. These five habits help you build both your earning power and your wealth.

1. Improve your ability to earn. People pay for useful value. What skill can you learn, or what service can you improve, that gives them a better reason to pay you? A tailor who improves her finishing and delivers when promised gives customers a reason to return and recommend her. Keep developing what you can offer.
2. Pay yourself first. You have paid the landlord, the food seller and the data vendor. Have you kept anything for the person doing all this work? Decide the share you will save before the money arrives, then move it when you get paid. Start with an amount you can repeat and increase it as your income grows.
3. Give the rest a plan. A salary increase can disappear into bigger bills if you have not decided what matters. Make room for your needs, family responsibilities and debt repayments. You can enjoy your money and still set limits. Every invitation does not have to become an expense.
4. Invest so your money can grow too. Learn how an investment earns, what it costs and how long you can leave the money. Then invest consistently and reinvest returns where suitable. Those returns can begin earning too, allowing compound growth to build over time. Give the process patience, while remembering that investments carry risk.
5. Protect what you are building. An investment should survive your questions. Who holds the money? How is the return earned? What could go wrong? Keep emergency money accessible, spread your investment risk and seek knowledgeable advice. Protecting your progress today helps you provide for your family and the years when you may earn less.

Flexible Savings: money for “something came up”

For example, you have settled transport and food for the week. Then the generator repairer calls with his price. That is the kind of moment an emergency fund is for. Flexible Savings lets you keep money growing without locking it away.

Start with ₦1,000, by hand or with Autosave. It earns 13% a year, worked out daily and added on the first of each month. Once added, the interest earns too.

How to use Moneywise Flexible Savings

1. Open Flexible Savings and choose the amount to move from your Wallet.
2. Then check the amount, rate and Wallet balance left after saving, and confirm.
3. Next, add a goal if it helps, such as “School fees buffer”. You can skip this.
4. After that, set Autosave daily, weekly or monthly if you want the habit to run for you. Pause or stop it whenever you need.

What does ₦100,000 earn? For 30 days at 13% a year: ₦100,000 × 0.13 × 30 ÷ 365 = ₦1,068.49.

Need some of it? Withdraw to your Wallet any day, the same day. Interest already earned stays yours. Keep this pot for money that must remain within reach.

The December Plan: enjoy December, remember January

December can spend January’s money before January even arrives. Transport home, gifts, food and one more aso ebi all look reasonable on their own. Then school resumes. This plan helps you prepare before the group chat starts choosing fabric.

Save at least ₦10,000 in total each month, at once or in smaller payments. A qualifying month earns at 16% a year. Miss the target and that month earns at 13% a year; earlier months keep what they earned.

How to use Moneywise’s December Plan

1. First, open the December Plan. You can join in any month up to 30 November.
2. Read and accept the main rule: no early or partial withdrawals. Keep emergency money elsewhere.
3. Make your first save and work towards ₦10,000 for the month. Set Autosave if it suits your cash flow.
4. Check your monthly progress. On 1 December, look out for the confirmed payout date.

What is the difference in naira? ₦100,000 held for 30 days earns ₦1,315.07 at 16%, compared with ₦1,068.49 at 13%. Those are 30-day examples, not the payout on twelve monthly contributions.

Miss October? October earns at 13%. Reach the target in November and November earns at 16%. A difficult month does not cancel the progress you already made.

Your savings and growth arrive in your Wallet between 10 and 15 December. Money keeps earning at November’s rate until the payout, with no interest on payout day itself. The next plan opens on 1 January.

Your first ₦10,000 month also opens the Inner Circle. More on that below.

WiseLock: give a lump sum a date

A contract finally pays. You already know that part of the money is next year’s rent. Leaving it in your spending account is an invitation to every “urgent small something”. WiseLock lets you set it aside until an agreed date.

Start from ₦50,000. Choose 30 days, 3 months, 6 months or 12 months at 18% a year. Your rate is fixed when you confirm.

How to use Moneywise WiseLock

1. Open WiseLock and enter the amount you can leave untouched.
2. Next, choose a term that ends before you need the money. Read the exact end date.
3. Choose interest upfront or at the end. Both use the same annual rate.
4. Finally, read the quote and lock consent, then confirm. The quote holds for 15 minutes.

Upfront: the interest goes to your Wallet when you confirm; your original amount returns on the end date. At the end: your original amount and interest arrive together. A “Fixed Deposit” here means WiseLock with interest paid at the end.

Term in this example	Interest on ₦100,000	Total if paid at the end
30 days	₦1,479.45	₦101,479.45
3 months, 92 days	₦4,536.99	₦104,536.99
6 months, 182 days	₦8,975.34	₦108,975.34
12 months, 365 days	₦18,000.00	₦118,000.00

The sum is amount × annual rate × actual days ÷ 365. Calendar months vary, so check your own quote. These examples show interest before any applicable charges or tax.

There is no normal early withdrawal. Rare cases require a review, and any interest already paid can be deducted. If you may need the money soon, use Flexible Savings. When a WiseLock ends, money returns to your Wallet; locking again is your choice. Autosave does not fund WiseLock.

Getting money out and getting help

Flexible withdrawals, December payouts and matured WiseLocks all return to your Wallet. From there, send money to your bank or someone else. Confirm money leaving Moneywise with your PIN, or Face ID if enabled.

Moneywise sets no sending limit to your own verified bank account. Transfers to other people are limited to ₦1 million a day, and a first transfer to a new person needs a phone code. For the first 24 hours on a new device, the limit is ₦50,000 a day. A lower bank limit still applies.

Your money is held by Moneywise’s licensed partner, VFD. Check the bank-confirmed recipient name before sending. Keep your PIN and codes private, including from anyone offering to “help” on WhatsApp.

A payment has not landed? Check its status first. In the app, tap your avatar and choose Help, or open the payment and select Get help with this. That sends support the reference. You can also email [email protected] or call +234 702 682 1829 or +234 802 785 5252.

The Inner Circle: people who help you keep going

Some months, the best encouragement is hearing that somebody else is trying too. Your first ₦10,000 December Plan month opens a community led by Isaac, with monthly masterclasses, a book club, Monday opportunities and a private progress check-in.

The live Zoom Masterclass runs on the first Saturday of the month, 6pm to 8pm Nigeria time. Members receive reminders and a replay. Access lasts until 31 January. Non-members can join a class for ₦10,000 through Paystack and receive the replay. An opportunity being checked is not a guarantee; read its terms before applying.

How to use Moneywise: quick answers

Start small. Give the first naira a job.

You do not have to sort out your whole financial life tonight. Start with money you can manage. Give it one job, set the next saving date and check in again next month. That is how “I should save” becomes “I have something kept aside”.

Download Moneywise for iPhone or Android. If a money term still sounds like long grammar, look it up in the Moneywise Dictionary.

Know somebody whose salary also disappears before month-end? Send them this guide. You can start the conversation without asking what is in their account.

Product details: Flexible Savings, December Plan, WiseLock and Moneywise FAQs. Read the current terms and quote in the app before confirming.