If your bank recently declined international transactions on your Mastercard because it is above the allowable daily limit, I found a way around it.
The new foreign exchange and banking policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria means that a lot of international transactions will become more difficult and tricky in the coming months.
All Nigerian banks now have banks 300USD per day and 1000USD per month limits on international Mastercard transactions.
As President Muhammadu Buhari explained in his 2016 budget speech, Nigeria is currently unable to meet it’s foreign exchange demands – the reason for the excessively restrictive ‘Dollar Policies’ by the Central Bank.
The current economic situation in Nigeria is hurting many businesses, especially US Dollar dependent ones. Digital Strategists making regular online payments will be affected terribly.
Recently, I tried to pay 500USD to Facebook for promotions I carried out on behalf of a client but it failed several times as GTBank kept saying it exceeded my daily allowable transaction limits.
I tried to pay using Paypal instead. And it worked!
Somehow – I don’t know how – the bank was able to pay Paypal sums above the allowed 300USD daily limit.
If you are facing the same problem, try paying through Paypal – if the platform allows.
For Facebook, go to billing in the Ads Manager and substitute your Mastercard with Paypal in the payment method.
Paypal entered the Nigerian market late. It appears this is their opportunity to gain customers.
If you’ve found other ways around these transaction bottlenecks, share in the comment section.
ogala 