Stanbic IBTC Bank Ltd and Zenith Bank Plc in Nigeria have stated that they will put a limit to customer withdrawals and expenditure on a debit card used abroad.
The limit begins Monday, July 20 for Stanbic IBTC Bank and customers with its debut card would only be able to spend $500 per month on transactions. They also stated a $100 monthly withdrawal limit.
Zenith Bank Plc customers will only get a limit on debit card use for expenditures abroad. They will no longer be able to make withdrawals with a debit card when abroad. Customers will, however, be able to spend $200 on transactions monthly.
As Reuters Africa noted down what Zenith Bank said regarding this: “This review is in response to today’s economic realities”.
The new limit policy is not new to debit card users in Nigeria like those with Eco Bank and Fidelity bank debit cards.
According to Reuters, there is yet no confirmation that the CBN was behind this move. It would not be new if the central bank had authorized this new limit on debit card transactions. Limiting debit card transactions is backed by a common financial notion as it is mostly due to the need to limit foreign currency settlement. It will also help the bank preserve dollars since they have faced lots of shortages lately.
The CBN has taken more steps than one to conserve its dollar reserves including depreciating the naira last week. The decision appears to have caused an FX tension and put traders in confusion.
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