Post by Trade facilitator on Apr 3, 2022 17:04:54 GMT 1
Deposit Money Banks Suspend ATM, PoS Transactions Abroad As Directed By The Federal Government Of Nigeria
In line with the realities of the current economic situation in the country as regards foreign currency, Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in the country have announced temporary suspension of overseas Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card services and point of sale (PoS) transactions usually carried out by bank customers.
The banks announced that this decision followed consistent dollar scarcity and challenges faced by manufacturers and real sector operators in sourcing for foreign exchange from the national economy.
Recently, exactly a few days ago, my bank, Zenith Bank Plc confirmed the development in a memo it mailed to its customers, the bank said that the move was in line with the current realities of the economic situation in the country.
The bank said “Please be informed that we have temporarily suspended the use of Zenith Bank Naira cards for International Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cash withdrawals and PoS transactions.
“Additionally, the monthly card spend limit for web transactions has been reviewed from $100 to $20. This review is in response to today’s economic realities.
“If you have higher international spend requirements, simply visit any of our branches and request for foreign currency debit or prepaid card, which are available in US Dollars, Pounds and Euro variants.”
Customers of First Bank Plc have also received memos announcing the limit review on all dollar-based ATM and PoS transactions abroad.
In email to customers, the bank attributed the adjustment to dollar transactions on e-payment channels to ‘market realities on foreign exchange’. The bank said “Due to current market realities on foreign exchange, we’ve reviewed cross border transaction limits for the Naira MasterCard and the Naira credit card to $50 monthly.”
Other banks, including IBTC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc had earlier announced the suspension of their overseas ATM card services. The banks advised their customers seeking to carryout transactions denominated in foreign currency to apply for dollar or Pound Sterling debit cards.
According to them, the dollar or pound sterling debit or credit cards will be linked to the customer’s domiciliary accounts.
Investigations by our staff revealed that some banks had slashed their daily ATM withdrawal limit abroad from the $300 advised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Bankers Committee to $100 due to their inability to source for dollars to fund their transactions.
The Central Bank had earlier expressed concerns about indiscriminate and suspicious manners in which some banks’ customers were spending dollars and other foreign currencies abroad through their naira debit cards.
Recall that banks had in 2020 stopped the use of Naira cards for ATM foreign currency withdrawals while reviewing monthly international spending using naira cards from $500 to $300 and ultimately to $100.
What is the implication of the reviews and actions of these banks in Nigeria that have drastically reduced the amount citizens can spend on international transactions using their naira debit cards?
This simply means that Nigerian banks’ debit card holders cannot perform ATM cash withdrawals and purchases or payments via PoS terminals outside Nigeria any longer.
This is truly a trying period for Nigerians that travel abroad regularly for their business as they used the naira cards to pay for transactions billed in US dollars which are directly debited from their naira accounts at the current exchange rates.
This situation cannot be divorced from the recent massive drop in foreign exchange earnings witnessed in the country.
This has made the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to come up with several measures and policies aimed at improving the country’s foreign exchange situation.
Remember that we brought to you a new policy introduced by the CBN that should bring to the country about $200 billion from non-oil exports within the next five years. All these policies are primarily to shore up the foreign exchange base of the country.
Our company is one of the best companies in Export and Importation businesses in Nigeria today, we train individuals and corporate organizations on how to do Export, Major and Mini Import business the right way; if you are interested, please contact the admin of this forum now.
In line with the realities of the current economic situation in the country as regards foreign currency, Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in the country have announced temporary suspension of overseas Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card services and point of sale (PoS) transactions usually carried out by bank customers.
The banks announced that this decision followed consistent dollar scarcity and challenges faced by manufacturers and real sector operators in sourcing for foreign exchange from the national economy.
Recently, exactly a few days ago, my bank, Zenith Bank Plc confirmed the development in a memo it mailed to its customers, the bank said that the move was in line with the current realities of the economic situation in the country.
The bank said “Please be informed that we have temporarily suspended the use of Zenith Bank Naira cards for International Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cash withdrawals and PoS transactions.
“Additionally, the monthly card spend limit for web transactions has been reviewed from $100 to $20. This review is in response to today’s economic realities.
“If you have higher international spend requirements, simply visit any of our branches and request for foreign currency debit or prepaid card, which are available in US Dollars, Pounds and Euro variants.”
Customers of First Bank Plc have also received memos announcing the limit review on all dollar-based ATM and PoS transactions abroad.
In email to customers, the bank attributed the adjustment to dollar transactions on e-payment channels to ‘market realities on foreign exchange’. The bank said “Due to current market realities on foreign exchange, we’ve reviewed cross border transaction limits for the Naira MasterCard and the Naira credit card to $50 monthly.”
Other banks, including IBTC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc had earlier announced the suspension of their overseas ATM card services. The banks advised their customers seeking to carryout transactions denominated in foreign currency to apply for dollar or Pound Sterling debit cards.
According to them, the dollar or pound sterling debit or credit cards will be linked to the customer’s domiciliary accounts.
Investigations by our staff revealed that some banks had slashed their daily ATM withdrawal limit abroad from the $300 advised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Bankers Committee to $100 due to their inability to source for dollars to fund their transactions.
The Central Bank had earlier expressed concerns about indiscriminate and suspicious manners in which some banks’ customers were spending dollars and other foreign currencies abroad through their naira debit cards.
Recall that banks had in 2020 stopped the use of Naira cards for ATM foreign currency withdrawals while reviewing monthly international spending using naira cards from $500 to $300 and ultimately to $100.
What is the implication of the reviews and actions of these banks in Nigeria that have drastically reduced the amount citizens can spend on international transactions using their naira debit cards?
This simply means that Nigerian banks’ debit card holders cannot perform ATM cash withdrawals and purchases or payments via PoS terminals outside Nigeria any longer.
This is truly a trying period for Nigerians that travel abroad regularly for their business as they used the naira cards to pay for transactions billed in US dollars which are directly debited from their naira accounts at the current exchange rates.
This situation cannot be divorced from the recent massive drop in foreign exchange earnings witnessed in the country.
This has made the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to come up with several measures and policies aimed at improving the country’s foreign exchange situation.
Remember that we brought to you a new policy introduced by the CBN that should bring to the country about $200 billion from non-oil exports within the next five years. All these policies are primarily to shore up the foreign exchange base of the country.
Our company is one of the best companies in Export and Importation businesses in Nigeria today, we train individuals and corporate organizations on how to do Export, Major and Mini Import business the right way; if you are interested, please contact the admin of this forum now.
