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