Banks Reduces Daily Withdrawal on ATMs To N60,000

The existing daily withdrawal limits on Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) of N150,000 and foreign transactions of N2m on all existing Naira debit cards (ATM cards) has been affected in the current battle for defence of the Naira value.

In the new arrangement, all ATMs that were hitherto enabled for domestic and foreign transactions have been restructured to limit Naira cash withdrawal at ATMs to N60,000 per day while foreign currency is $300 per day.
The new arrangement has separated traditional ATM which formerly could be used for transactions both domestic and abroad from MasterCard.
Also, the restructured cards now have spending limits on POS/eCommerce (online shopping) which before this was N2 million per day pegged at $300 (about N60,000) per day..

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc In a communication according to Vanguard,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 GTBank 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 were coming on the heels of Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) statement on Sunday, which read;

“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.”