By Adedapo Adesanya
More financial institutions in Nigeria are beginning to reduce international spending limits for their customers as the foreign exchange situation in the country continues to bite harder.
As they face tightening forex liquidity, it will be difficult for banks to meet their dollar commitments, particularly for debit card usage, hence, the need to cut down the spending limits.
In a message sent to its customers and seen by Business Post, top lender, First Bank Nigeria, announced that it has now limited the amount its customers can henceforth spend for offshore transactions in a month to $100.
“Spend now and pay later with your Naira Credit Card. Enjoy up to N3,000,000 credit facility, $100 monthly spend limit on international transactions, 45 interest-free days, flexible repayment plan, access to over 29 million channels worldwide, card control and protection using the Card Services feature on FirstMobile App,” the bank said in the notice.
Equally, fellow tier-one lender, UBA, also announced that it was following the path due to the uncertainties surrounding the forex market which had forced its hand to review its international spending limits.
The company, in a notice to its customers, said, “In light of the uncertainties in the Foreign Exchange Market, we have had to review international card spending limits.
“The new applicable limit on your Naira card is $100 (or its equivalent in other foreign currencies) monthly effective August 21, 2020.
“Whilst we note this significant reduction from your previous spend limit, we would like to reassure that this limit will be revised upwards as the market continues to improve.”
Also, Fidelity Bank took the same step, putting $100 cap on international transactions via its Naira card.
The bank stated, “Please be informed that the spending limit for international transactions on our Fidelity Naira Visa and MasterCard is now $100 monthly.
“This means that your card can be used on Point-of-Sale (POS), WEB and ATM for a cumulative transaction value of $100 monthly.”
Business Post also reached out to the customer care of Ecobank Nigeria, which also confirmed to us that a $100 monthly limit has been placed on international spending using its cards.
Two weeks ago, we reported that Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) slashed the international spending limit on its Naira Mastercard by 80 per cent to $100 per month from $500 it first reduced it to earlier in the year.
It was also reported that Stanbic IBTC Bank said its customers will only be able to spend $500 per month in terms of offshore card transactions and placed a monthly limit of $100 on withdrawals.
Another tier one bank, Zenith Bank Plc, announced a temporary suspension of the use of debit cards for cash withdrawals abroad while it slashed the monthly spending limit for international card users to $200.
Nigerian banks are struggling to get forex to meet the huge demand of customers.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Dipo Olowookere