Naira Inches Toward N1,500 Breakout as Banks Restore FX Card Access

The Nigerian Naira is edging closer to a key psychological threshold, trading at N1,528/$ on Friday in the official market, just shy of breaking the N1,500/$ resistance level.

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This significant movement follows a wave of positive market signals, notably the decision by major Nigerian banks—including GTBank, UBA, Wema Bank, and Stanbic IBTC—to reinstate foreign exchange transactions on naira-denominated debit cards. Customers can now make international payments with a capped limit of $1,000 per quarter, including $500 in ATM withdrawals and $1,000 in online and POS payments.

In a statement, GTBank said: "This limit covers cash withdrawals from ATMs abroad up to $500 and online and point-of-sale transactions up to $1000. The cap applies to all naira card transactions outside Nigeria."

UBA added that all its premium naira cards—Gold, Platinum, and World variants are now fully operational for foreign transactions.