A local bank, First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), has reportedly ended the use of the Naira Mastercard, Naira Credit Card, Virtual card, and Visa Prepaid Naira card for dollar transactions.
Driving the news
In light of the forex crisis in the country, FBN is suspending the $20 monthly limit on debit cards from September 30th 2022. The bank further advised customers to switch to the Visa Debit Multicurrency Card, Visa Prepaid (USD) Card, and Visa Gold Credit Card to process international transactions.
- FBN also set a transaction limit of $10,000 on dollar cards.
What this means
This implies that businesses, individuals, and corporations who use debit cards to process international transactions would need to register and use a dollar card to complete financial payment.
Why it matters
There is no hope of economic recovery if the forex crisis in the country continues even as the monthly inflation rate is also rising.
What you should know
Nigeria’s black market US dollar to Naira exchange rate has fallen from N565/$1 at the beginning of 2022 to N705/$1 at the time of this report.
This has therefore made Naira the 11th worst-performing currency against the US dollar, according to Hanke’s Currency Watchlist.