Making payments on Aliexpress with a Naira Visa card

Now that Naira cards have been re-enabled for online shopping thanks toe the flip-flop policies of this government of change, I'm happy that I can now make payments on Aliexpress from Nigeria and there are a lot of good stuff listed there one can buy.

I recently purchased a package on Aliexpress and as usual, the item's price was listed in US dollars and included the purchase price as well as the shipping cost. Yes, this is one reason why I love shopping on Aliexpress at times - They include the shipping cost so you know how much everything is really going to cost you apart from the custom duty. About custom duty, I don't think I will be charged sinced it's a small item that doesn't look like one for commercial purpose.

Aliexpress has a lot of great stuff that they're selling and you'd notice that most of the things we buy from the local Nigerian market which are imported from China are actually cheaper on Aliexpress. You just need to give them a try and see the difference. Actually, I mostly prefer buying things on Aliexpress when I can't find it locally at a good price or when I don't need it urgently becuase Aliexpress deliveries takes many weeks before reaching a buyer in Nigeria through NIPOST.

Well, I saw the item I wanted to buy on Aliexpress and since I had an existing account, I just placed the order and proceeded to make payment. I have to say that making payments on Aliexpress is a bit tedious as they require you to enter your car details each time unlike what I get from Amazon whre I'd just choose from my cards and place the order. When making payments on Aliexpres with a card, you will have to enter the card number, card holder's name, expiry date a,d CVV code printed at the back. If you've got a Webmoney account, it may be easier but many Nigerians don't use Webmoney but a more popular one called Paypal is not supported on Aliexpress.

So, when making payments, I had to enter my full card details and it was a Naira Visa card I recently got from my bank. When I proceeded to submit the details, I was taken to a Verified by Visa processing platform which was supported by my bank and I guess it was meant for more security so that someone doesn't use your card details without your permission. Thank God for that.

The Verified by Visa platform sent an OTP to my bank's registered phone and I got the code whih I lated entered on the processing page to confirm the payment. I also updated my Alipay account's password since I'm also signed up with Alipay. I use Alipay to monitor my refunds on Aliexpress and it's a good thing to have. However, I don't really understand how Alipay really works and whether it works like Paypal or allows me to store money.

After I submitted the payment, the order was successful and I got a debit alert from my bank of the charge made on Aliexpress. My Aliexpress order was also posted and I got an email from them that the payment for the order was awaiting confirmation.

Unlike making payments on Amazon with my Naira Visa card, when I make payments on Aliexpress, my bank account is normally debited almost immediately. With Amazon Naira payments, I only get debited the next day.

The exchange rate I was charged for my Aliexpress was about N335 per US dollar which was the same rate I was charged when I purchased a gift card from Amazon with the same Naira Visa card. So, in terms of exchange rate, It is the same when shopping on any foreign website that prices are listed in US dollars as the rates are set by my bank.

Now that I've placed my order on Aliexpress, I would have to wait for the seller to send my item and I should expect delivery before the buyer protection period ends. If the seller does not deliver within that period, I would have to raise a dispute so that my money will be refunded.

Buy things on Aliexpress