How to Buy Upwork Connects as a Nigerian in 2024

As we all know, in Nigeria, things aren’t always straightforward. A few years ago, you could easily buy Upwork Connects with your naira MasterCard as long as you had the equivalent naira of the dollar amount billed for the Connects. Unfortunately, things are not so straightforward anymore. In this article, I will explain the multiple ways you can buy Upwork Connects despite all the limitations.

There are 2 ways to buy Upwork Connects; these are: 

From Upwork Income

If you have any balance on Upwork, you can use it to buy Connects; simply go to the “Buy Connects” page and it will be a seamless task. However, this is only for those who have made some money from Upwork. If you are a beginner and you haven’t got any balance on Upwork, this option isn’t for you. 

From Payment Cards 

When you go to the billings and payments section of your Account settings page, you will see where you can add a billing method. This is where you can add your debit cards. 

Unfortunately for us in Nigeria, the payment card option has become a major hassle. Banks have now stopped allowing dollar transactions on the Naira Mastercard due to the volatile forex market.

So, what is the way out for you? There are 2 ways to get the right payment cards.

USD Domiciliary Account

Well, the best advice I can give you is to open a dollar domiciliary account with a trustworthy bank. For now, Access, GTB, Zenith, etc are banks that have strong dollar account functions. 

Before you open any account with a bank, confirm that you will be able to get the dollar card quickly; this is because some banks may not have it readily available. 

You see, opening a dollar account isn’t very complex; however, you will most likely be asked for 2 references (likely current account holders) to sign reference forms. Another issue is that some banks charge expensive fees for the dollar cards — all compounding the woes of a broke hustler looking to get into Upwork freelancing. Do your comprehensive research before opening an account with any bank to avoid stories that touch the heart.

Once you have opened the account, now you need to buy dollars from vendors. 

There are many ways that people buy dollars, but I would recommend going to the Hausas/Fulani doing BDC work. Wherever you are, you should find out where the bureau-de-change (BDC) operators are gathered in your location. To find them, simply Google “BDC operators in xx” and you will get your answers.

You will likely need to have around 50k Naira to buy a little enough dollar that will be enough to buy some amounts of Upwork Connects.

Once you have deposited some dollars into your domiciliary account, request your dollar cards. 

This is still the safest method for me; so, as you are reading this, schedule a visit to your bank to open a domiciliary account so that you can have your account as quickly as possible.

Third-Party Virtual Card Solutions

This is faster and easier than getting a USD domiciliary account. There are several platforms where you can access virtual dollar cards and use them for international transactions. These include Chipper Cash, Geegpay, Eversend, ALAT by Wema, Grey, and several others. 

Before choosing a platform, do your due diligence and do enough research about it before you use it. Once you have chosen one or more platforms to use, you will have access to their USD virtual cards. 

Unfortunately, the rate of converting naira to dollar on these platforms is normally really high. Also, note that your discretion is highly advised when loading money onto these platforms.

To buy USD on these platforms, the steps you will take often look like this: 

1. You should automatically be allocated a naira account upon registering on their platform.
2. You need to request a dollar account and virtual card (if it is not automatic).
3. Navigate the platform to confirm their rate of conversion from naira to dollar.
4. Once you have gotten the account and virtual card, load naira onto to the naira account from your traditional banks.
5. Convert the naira in your naira account to dollars. 
6. Load the dollar in your USD account onto your USD virtual card (if it is not automatic)

Note: When using these virtual cards to buy Upwork Connects, ensure that the billing details of the card correspond to the billing details you will fill on Upwork when adding the card to your payment options.  

My Recommendation

Due to the speed in which you can get your virtual dollar cards from these third-party platforms, you can buy Connects using these virtual dollar cards; but, ensure you also get your domiciliary account for future USD transactions and the ability to receive USD into your traditional Nigerian banks. Some of these third-party platforms also offer the chance to receive USD into your dollar account from Upwork or Payoneer; however, I believe getting your money into domiciliary accounts is better, safer, reliable, and even more profitable. Having your money in your domiciliary account also gives you more flexibility over how you want to receive or spend your money. 

Buying Upwork Connects

So, now that you have dollars in your domiciliary account or virtual dollar cards, it is now time to buy Upwork Connects. 

Use your PC for this. Go to your settings page via the highlighted area in the image above.

On the settings page, you should click on the membership and connects section.

You can also buy connects by clicking on the Connects section on the Upwork homepage.

If you click on Buy Connects, you will be redirected to the page where you will choose the number of Connects to buy.

The lowest is $1.5 for 10 Connects (+tax) and the highest is $9999 for 1,499.85 Connects (+tax). Also, note that you will pay tax on any amount of Connects you purchase. 

Conclusion

Without Connects, you most likely won’t succeed on Upwork; hence, it is important to ensure you always have enough Connects to keep applying for jobs.