Market News

Citing the lingering foreign exchange scarcity, some commercial banks in the country have told their customers, who want to purchase foreign currency to meet needs such as, international school fees, upkeep and rent payments, as well as Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) and Personal Travel Allowance (PTA), to submit their applications in advance. Specifically, in an email titled, “Important update on FX transaction, sent to its customers yesterday, which was sighted by New Telegraph, one of the country’s Tier 1 banks, said it would need a 30-day period to fulfil requests for school fees, upkeep and rent payment.

The lender also stated that customers were required to submit applications for BTA/PTA 14 days before their proposed travel date. The statement partly reads: “In line with our commitment to giving you the best banking experience, we are pleased to provide the following important updates on your forex needs for international school fees, upkeep payments and PTA/ ETA requests.

“All requests are reviewed to ensure they meet regulatory requirements. “In addition, due to limited FX availability provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria, we require a 30-day period to fulfil requests for school fees, upkeep and rent payment. “However, for PTA/BTA, we request that you submit your application 14 days before your proposed travel date to allow disbursement within the timeline.” New Telegraph recently reported that as part of their measures to address the acute forex scarcity, banks in the country suspended individual withdrawals with Naira debit cards abroad and toughened limits on online payments.