Nigerian banks are beginning to lift the embargo placed on the use of naira cards for international transactions almost a year after they suspended the service.

Wema Bank on Friday told its customers they can begin to use their naira master cards for international transactions.

“It’s time to enjoy seamless transactions and make purchases internationally. You can now use your Naira cards, including Mastercard, ALAT Mastercard, and Visa, for international spending.,” Wema Bank said in a message to customers.

But the bank maintained a monthly transaction limit of $500.

“You can now use your Naira cards, including Mastercard, ALAT Mastercard, and Visa, for international spending. For your international transactions, you can enjoy up to $500 per month,” Wema said.

Following Nigeria’s foreign exchange crunch that lingered for years, banks began to suspend the use naira card for international transactions.

First Bank of Nigeria Limited, had, on September 30, suspended international transactions on its naira Mastercard, citing “current market realities on foreign exchange.”

GTBank suspended online and PoS transactions with naira cards, effective from December 31, 2022.

Standard Chartered Bank suspended international transactions on its naira visa debit card in July 2022.

Zenith Bank Plc informed its customers that it has temporarily suspended the use of Zenith Bank Naira cards for International Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cash withdrawals and PoS transactions.

Before the decision, banks had in March 2022 limited monthly card spending limit for web transactions from $100 to $20.