In yet another worrying sign of Nigeria worsening Foreign Exchange crisis, Nigerian customers abroad will have their debit card spending limited by some of their banks.
This is in a bid to limit foreign currency settlement risk by the banks.
Two of Nigerian leading banks have moved to temporarily suspend the use of debit cards abroad for cash withdrawals and cut the monthly spending limit abroad by more than half to $200.
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This development is coming on the heels of severe foreign exchange shortage that has rocked the country following the sharp fall in the price of oil, Nigeria’s main foreign exchange earner.
In a notice sent to their customers, top tier lender Zenith Bank Plc said it will temporarily suspend the use of debit cards abroad for cash withdrawals and cut the monthly spending limit abroad by more than half to $200.
“This review is in response to today’s economic realities,” the top tier lender informed their customers while advising them to request prepaid dollar cards.
On its part, Stanbic IBTC Bank said it will halve the spending limit for offshore card transactions to $500 per month from Monday and will limit cash withdrawals to $100.
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Similarly, other lenders — Ecobank and Fidelity Bank have also informed their customers about how they have lowered withdrawal limits for individuals while abroad.
Banks are battling to conserve dollar reserves that are down 19% from a year ago. Last week it depreciated the currency on the official market prompting the naira to weaken on the black and over-the-counter spot markets.
Nigeria is yet to resume forex sales to Bureau Du Change operators after the ban on international travel as part of a lockdown measure to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Also, last week the Central Bank of Nigeria moved closer unifying the exchange rates in the official market and the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, as it devalued the naira to N380. 5 per dollar in the official market. Data from FMDQ showed an adjustment of the official exchange rate to N380
