Nigerian banks reactivate cross border spending on Naira debit card

Banks in Nigerian has activated cross border or foreign currency spending with the Naira debit card, series of update from top financial institutions have revealed. The development comes about three years after many banks suspended international transactions on naira debit cards. The restriction followed a sharp drop in dollar liquidity, which forced many local lenders to restrict transactions of local cards abroad. Naira debit card restriction for online payment became easy target to control outflow of FX as the Nigerian economy experienced forex shortage.
However, transactions are allowed for dollar-funded cards, and usually linked to cardholders’ domiciliary accounts. In separate announcements, banks are promoting the use of Naira debit card for everyday payments, online shopping, POS, and ATM transactions across the world.  Recently, the central bank activated multiple FX sources to increase dollar inflows, boost dollar access to manufacturers and retail end users and support Naira recovery across markets.