For years, Nigerians swiping abroad felt like they were begging for crumbs. Now the vault has opened.
Commercial banks are throwing the doors wide on international card spending, lifting quarterly limits to as high as $40,000. The move comes on the back of a booming dollar supply and the strongest external reserves in years, a signal that Nigeria’s FX crunch may finally be loosening its grip.
From $1,000 to $40,000
Just 10 months ago, you could barely book a flight and hotel on one card. In November 2025, the cap was $6,000. Last July, it was a painful $1,000.
Today, Guaranty Trust Bank is leading the charge. In a note to customers, GTBank announced a new quarterly limit of $40,000 on Naira cards, with international payments processed at N1,355 to $1, though rates will still float with the market.
Others are following, but more cautiously. Access Bank, UBA, Stanbic IBTC and Wema still keep monthly offshore POS and online limits below $5,000. FirstBank had pegged quarterly online and POS at $1,000 and ATM at $500, but to ease pressure it teamed up with Visa to launch Visa Signature for affluent customers.
“At FirstBank, we are dedicated to creating financial solutions that reflect the evolving lifestyles of our customers,” said Chuma Ezirim, Group Executive, eBusiness and Retail Products.
ALSO READ: CBN credits record $52.5B foreign reserves to renewed investor confidence
CBN’s War Chest Fuels the Comeback
The reason banks can breathe again sits in CBN’s books. As of August 19, gross external reserves hit $52.6 billion, according to CBN data.
Governor Olayemi Cardoso told an industry forum in Lagos that net FX reserves have climbed from just over $3 billion at the start of reforms to more than $40 billion today. “Market forces now dictate trading outcomes,” he said, instead of routine central bank bailouts.
Bismarck Rewane of Financial Derivatives credited the surge to higher oil prices and new inflow channels: diaspora products, more IMTO licenses, and a willing-buyer-willing-seller model.
Students, Shoppers and CEOs Breathe Again
The relief is immediate for families, students, and businesses long starved of dollars.
Under new CBN rules, tuition remittances for undergrad and postgrad students abroad jumped to $25,000 per semester from $15,000. “Payment of tuition fees… shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the FX manual states.
Dr. Uju Ogubunka, former CIBN Registrar, said the higher card limits show real confidence. “It shows that liquidity in the foreign exchange market has improved significantly and we can see that from the stability of the exchange rate,” he noted.
For now, Nigerians can swipe, study, and shop abroad again, without the monthly panic of hitting a wall.
