Naira-denominated ATM cards will also be blocked from making local transactions denominated in forex.
This means bank customers will not be able to use their cards to buy products from foreign e-commerce sites like e-bay and amazon.com in which payments are made in forex.
Nigerians living abroad will also be unable to use their cards like they normally do in the past.
Already, Standard Chartered Bank has notified its customers that the new development will come into effect from January 1, 2016.
Other banks have also stopped customers from using their ATM cards abroad but had yet to officially communicate this to them.
This is the worst thing ever for students schooling abroad especially in those countries that don’t allow students to work. They rely on their naira MasterCard for payment of their school fee, accommodation, pocket money etc. At first, it was $300 daily, they were able to manage that, now it’s totally blocked. So how are they supposed to survive and continue their education if there is scarcity of dollars in Nigeria and they can’t use their naira-denominated card and most banks refuse to send western union or moneygram?