By Dipo Olowookere
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has informed its customers that from Sunday, January 15, 2023, its Naira cards will no longer be used to complete international transactions.
The tier-one financial institution disclosed this in a message sent to its customers on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.
The lender has joined the other banking institutions operating in Nigeria that have blocked the use of local currency debit cards for offshore transactions.
This step is being taken by most banks to conserve scarce foreign exchange (forex) in the country.
Despite the prices of crude oil rising in the global market, Nigeria has not earned more FX from the sale of the commodity, which it has in abundance.
Instead, its external reserves, which are mainly from crude oil sales, have continued to shrink due to oil theft and low production, putting pressure on the Naira in the currency market.
To help the Naira, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stopped selling forex to Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators. It also reduced FX supply to banks, tasking them to source forex themselves to meet their customers’ needs.
To remain in business, banks now prevent the use of Naira cards for the payment of goods and services charged in foreign currencies, including social media campaigns, website hosting and others.
In the message seen by Business Post, UBA advised its customers who intend to transact international businesses to open a domiciliary account or get its prepaid cards.
“In line with our promise to keep you updated on services, you will no longer be able to use your Naira card for ATM, POS or international online transactions effective 15th of January, 2023.
“Remember you can use a UBA Dollar, Pounds or Euro Card linked to a foreign currency account or a UBA Dollar Prepaid Card which is not linked to an account, for your international transactions,” a part of the message said.
Aduragbemi Omiyale