After more than three years of restrictions, Nigerian banks have resumed international transactions on naira-denominated debit cards, marking a major step toward restoring financial convenience for millions of Nigerians traveling or transacting abroad.
The development, led by United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Wema Bank, follows a notable improvement in dollar liquidity in the Nigerian foreign exchange market.
In announcements to customers this week, both banks confirmed that naira debit cards can now be used for online shopping, POS transactions, and ATM withdrawals across international platforms and destinations — a service suspended by most banks in 2021 due to acute foreign exchange shortages.
“All UBA Premium Naira Cards, including Gold, Platinum, and World variants, are now enabled for international transactions,” UBA stated.
Wema Bank echoed the announcement: “Your Wema Naira Mastercard just went global! Now you can pay in dollars on platforms like Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, and more.”
The restoration of global access to naira cards is underpinned by rising foreign exchange inflows, which hit $5.96 billion in May 2025, a 62% month-on-month increase. Analysts attribute this surge to renewed investor confidence, rising crude oil prices, and reforms introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under its multi-pronged forex strategy.
In a recent note to investors, Financial Derivatives Company Limited credited the improvement to CBN’s adoption of a willing buyer-willing seller model, licensing of additional International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs), and efforts to streamline diaspora remittances.
The apex bank also rolled out measures to enhance naira liquidity and broaden FX accessibility for manufacturers, SMEs, and travelers.
According to Ayokunle Olubunmi, Head of Financial Institutions Ratings at Agusto & Co, these reforms created the enabling environment for banks to reactivate suspended services.
“Improved FX liquidity, narrowing gaps between official and parallel market rates, and reduced arbitrage pressures have supported banks’ decisions,” Olubunmi said.
Naira debit cards were widely accepted abroad until the 2020-2022 period, when dollar shortages — worsened by declining oil revenues, COVID-19 disruptions, and policy inconsistencies — led banks to suspend international use of naira-linked cards. During this time, customers could only transact internationally with dollar-funded cards tied to domiciliary accounts.
Most Nigerian banks, including GTBank, Access Bank, Standard Chartered, and Stanbic IBTC, imposed low monthly limits on naira cards or suspended international use altogether.
This created significant hardship for travelers and online shoppers, who had to find alternative — often costly — ways to make payments or manage overseas expenses.
With the resumption, cardholders can now pay hotel bills, book flights, subscribe to global services, and shop online with ease — all funded directly in naira.
Industry insiders suggest that more banks will follow suit in the coming weeks, expanding naira card utility to millions of customers. A return to normalized card services is expected to further boost consumer confidence, simplify travel, and promote digital payments.
“We expect the trend to expand rapidly, provided FX supply remains stable and regulatory reforms continue,” said a senior executive at one Tier-1 bank.
Analysts say this development marks a return to normalcy in Nigeria’s retail banking experience, albeit cautiously optimistic. While the CBN has worked to stabilize the naira, sustained efforts will be necessary to maintain confidence in the forex market and support banking sector recovery.
With the expected inflow of more diaspora remittances, oil receipts, and foreign portfolio investments, Nigeria’s financial services sector may soon restore a wider suite of suspended services — a positive signal to local and international observers.