Dollar Scarcity: Access Bank Reduces Forex Payout for International Students, Traders

Access Bank has revised their request for foreign exchange (FX) to pay for overseas school fees, which suggests that other banks may do the same.

In a message marked “critical information on Form A request,” Access Bank account customers were informed that while the processing time and the quantity of foreign exchange they could obtain had changed, the latter had increased and the former had decreased.

According to sources, the processing time was increased from 48 hours to 120 days as a result of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) restricting access to foreign exchange since Access Bank can no longer guarantee prompt foreign exchange release due to a shortage of dollars.

The business also stated that applications for Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) will now get $2,000 rather than the previously fixed amount of $4,000.

Similarly, Access Bank announced that going forward, it will only be able to pay out $2,000 to applicants for Business Travel Allowance (BTA), down from $5,000.

“We cherish your partnership with us and would like to keep you updated on developments surrounding our fulfillment of Form A requests,” the note states.

“PTA / BTA requests are currently processed twice per applicant per year at a cost of $2,000 each application when the request is made less than 14 days prior to the departure date. Within 120 days of the date of acceptance, requests for upkeep and international school costs are addressed.

“All applications are processed and disbursed subject to FX availability, proper documentation, and provided the account to be debited is sufficiently funded to cover the Form A charge and other processing fees. 

“Kindly ensure your account is sufficiently funded to accommodate the value of the transaction and charges at the time of processing, as any request not backed with an adequately funded account or the required documentation will be rejected and considered a new request upon re-submission.  

“Updates on pending approved, or rejected Form A requests are duly posted and accessible on the Trade Monitoring System portal.”