Guaranty Trust Bank Plc has joined a growing list of Nigerian banks to suspend international transactions of their naira-denominated Mastercard.
According to the bank, this suspension will come into effect from December 31, 2022, as the bank will no longer support international online and Point of Sale transactions on such cards. The bank stated that its dollar cards will still be supporting international transactions.
It disclosed this in a letter to its customers. It said, “Dear customer, we write to inform you that you will no longer be able to use your Naira Mastercard for international online and POS transactions effective 31st December 2022. Kindly note that you can use your GTBank dollar card for all your international spending requirements.”
The bank added that its dollar card allows ATM withdrawal of $1,000 daily or the equivalent in the transaction’s local currency and has no limit to international PoS or online transactions.
In July, Standard Chartered Bank announced it has suspended international transactions on its naira visa debit card.
It said, “Kindly be informed that effective August 1, 2022, International spend on our Naira Visa Debit Card will be suspended.
“International spend limit on our Standard Chartered Bank Credit Card however remains at $1,000 monthly and Foreign Currency Debit Card limits remain unchanged.”
In September, First Bank announced the suspension of international transactions on its naira Mastercard virtual card and visa prepaid naira card from September 30.
It has said, “Due to current market realities on foreign exchange, you will no longer be able to use the Naira Mastercard, Naira Credit Card, our Virtual card, and Visa Prepaid Naira card for international transactions. This will take effect on 30 September 2022.
“Please use your Visa Debit Multicurrency Card, Visa Prepaid (USD) Card, and Visa Gold Credit Card to continue transacting abroad with limits of up to $10,000.”
In March, most Nigerian banks announced a $20 spending limit on international transactions using naira debit cards. This was because of a longstanding scarcity of foreign exchange and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s strict capital outflow regime.
Since the turn of the year, many Nigerians have been struggling to use their naira cards to pay on international platforms such as Apple Music.
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