Banks increase dollar spending limits for Nigerians

Nigerians using their dollar cards for payment abroad are smiling after banks increased spending limit following improvement in foreign exchange liquidity.

Nigerians have had to battle low spending limits on their naira cards owing to poor foreign reserve and low foreign exchange liquidity. The situation meant payment for tuitions, shopping and items were limited for Nigerians.

But with the increase in foreign liquidity and reserve, Nigerians now have bigger purchasing powers with their naira cards overseas.

Checks by www.naijagoodnews.com revealed some Nigerian banks are increasing the amount customers can spend internationally with their naira cards.

Some of the improved limits include:

GTBank: Up to $40,000 quarterly compared with $6,000 in May.

FirstBank: Up to $10,000 quarterly for international POS and online transactions with ATM withdrawals increased to $1,000 daily.

Zenith Bank: Up to $50,000 annually on naira cards.

UBA: Up to $20,000 for POS transactions and $10,000 for online transactions on its World USD Card.

Stanbic IBTC: Up to $8,000 quarterly on its naira Mastercard debit cards.

This means Nigerians who pay for international school fees, flights and hotels, software and digital services, online advertising, streaming subscriptions and other legitimate foreign payments can spend more without hassles.

It also means fewer problems when making international transactions with naira cards.

For years, FX shortages forced many banks to drastically reduce international card limits or suspend some offshore transactions.

The improvement is being linked to better FX liquidity and CBN reforms that have strengthened dollar inflows into the formal market.

Nigeria's external reserves have also crossed $54 billion, reaching $54.08 billion as of September 3, 2026.

Access to dollars through the formal banking system appears to be improving for Nigerians who are more and more integrated into global trades.