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.”
Vanguard

Categories: