Banks reduce withdrawal limits on ATMs
In the new arrangement, all ATMs that were enabled
for domestic and foreign transactions have been
restructured to limit Naira cash withdrawal at ATMs
from N150,000 per day to N60,000 per day while
foreign currency is $300 per day.
The new arrangement has separated traditional ATM
from MasterCard credit card where the former has
now been deactivated and can no longer be used for
transactions abroad.
Henceforth, a single ATM card serves for
transactions for both domestic and abroad.
Also, the restructured cards now have spending
limits on POS/eCommerce (online shopping) at $300
(about N60,000) per day. Before this, the limit was N2
million per day.
In a communication to the customers, the bank
explained:
“In view of the increased difficulty in sourcing
foreign currency to settle international
transactions on Naira MasterCards, we have
reduced the daily international spending limit on
your Naira MasterCard to $300.This means that
you can only spend up to $300 daily when using
your Naira MasterCard for international
payments via POS and online.
“You will, however, continue to have the option
of paying for medical bills, school fees,
mortgages and credit cards using Form A, as
these are eligible transactions for foreign
currency. Simply visit any GTBank branch to
complete a Form A along with the required
documents to make these payments.”
These developments came on the heels of Central
Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) statement on Sunday that all
legitimate requests for foreign currency for eligible
transactions, normally referred to as “invisibles,”
such as remittances for school fees, student
maintenance allowances, BTA, PTA, medical and
other eligible transactions, shall be fully met at the
official/interbank exchange rate.
A statement from the CBN added:
“The CBN hereby directs all authorised dealers in
foreign exchange in Nigeria to henceforth treat
as top priority all legitimate demand for foreign
exchange for eligible transactions.
“The CBN once again advises individuals that
wish to source foreign currency for such eligible
transactions to approach their banks with their
legitimate demand as the CBN has made
adequate provisions of foreign currency for all
such legitimate and eligible purposes.
“Furthermore, holders of Naira denominated
debit and credit cards shall continue to have
access to the use of their cards at ATMs in any
part of the world but subject to the annual limit
of $50,000. ATM withdraws shall continue to be a
maximum of $300 per day.”
Source: Vanguard
