Fidelity Bank slashes card spending limit as forex scarcity worsens

Tier 2 Bank, Fidelity Bank Plc said it had reviewed its card spending limit downward as Nigeria grapples with a severe foreign exchange crunch across various segment of its currency market.

The bank in an email to customers, said that the spending limit for debit card would now be $300 monthly while that of credit card remained $1,000.

Banks in Nigeria, including Fidelity, had in July resolved to cap overseas debit card spending in an effort to avert foreign currency settlement trouble as the coronavirus and the recent oil crash disrupted dollar flow into Africa’s largest economy.

“In view of the ongoing foreign exchange scarcity, monthly international spend limit has been reviewed as follows: Debit card – $300; and credit card – $1,000.

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“Following this, your card can be used for international transactions on ATM, PoS and Web cumulatively to this new monthly limit,” the email said.

Fidelity Bank had said in an earlier email to customers in April that the spending limit on Fidelity naira Visa and MasterCard had been modified to $1,000 monthly for international transactions.

“This means your card can be used on PoS, Web and ATM for a cumulative transaction value of up to $1,000 monthly. However, your daily ATM withdrawal limit is pegged at $300,” the bank said.

Zenith Bank had reduced monthly limits to $200 while Guaranty Trust Bank lowered its to $500.

Stanbic IBTC said last month it would scale down monthly card transaction threshold to $500 and place a ceiling of $100 on withdrawals.