Banks reduce withdrawal limits on ATMs

In the new arrangement, all ATMs that were enabled for domestic and foreign transactions have been restructured to limit Naira cash withdrawal at ATMs from N150,000 per day to N60,000 per day while foreign currency is $300 per day.

The new arrangement has separated traditional ATM from MasterCard credit card where the former has now been deactivated and can no longer be used for transactions abroad.

Henceforth, a single ATM card serves for transactions for both domestic and abroad.

Also, the restructured cards now have spending limits on POS/eCommerce (online shopping) at $300 (about N60,000) per day. Before this, the limit was N2 million per day.

In a communication to the customers, the bank explained:

“In view of the increased difficulty in sourcing foreign currency to settle international transactions on Naira MasterCards, we have reduced the daily international spending limit on your Naira MasterCard to $300.This means that you can only spend up to $300 daily when using your Naira MasterCard for international payments via POS and online.

“You will, however, continue to have the option of paying for medical bills, school fees, mortgages and credit cards using Form A, as these are eligible transactions for foreign currency. Simply visit any GTBank branch to complete a Form A along with the required documents to make these payments.”

Naira rebounds, now N208 to dollar as CBN moves against illicit financial flows

 The Naira at the weekend appreciated against major currencies, especially the dollar, which exchanged for between N206 and N210 at the parallel market on Sunday.

 The currency, which had lost up to 20 per cent of its value recently when a dollar exchanged for N245, responded to series of policies churned out by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

 As part of efforts to further strengthen the naira, the apex bank, at the weekend, vowed to move against illicit financial flows.

 The CBN policies which have seen Naira firm up have, however, brought untold hardship on Nigerians on vacation abroad as they find it difficult to make withdrawals from their domiciliary accounts from outside the country.

 In its plan to properly price the Naira, the apex bank had been tweaking its foreign exchange policies.

Chinese woman gets electrocuted while entering PIN code at an ATM

A Chinese woman was in for a real shock last weekend when she tried to get money out of an ATM.

The unsuspecting 23-year-old, known as Xiao Liu, had been entering her PIN code into a cash machine in Xi'an, north west China, when a sudden surge of electricity left her needing hospital treatment.

The electric shock sent 200 volts around the woman's body. Humans can only handle 36 volts safely.

The electricity passed from Liu's hand to her body, leaving her right arm numb and sore.

Liu was forced to the floor by the impact of the shock at the China Everbright Bank.

She soon realised that she was bleeding and that the fingernails on her right thumb and ring finger were broken.

Her card had also been swallowed by the machine.