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Posted by Felix Okoli on Thursday October 10, 2013 at 12:10:52:

I'm not saying that the Naira card is a bad thing as it offers convenience to the person who wants to use it abroad but it may not offer you the least cost for making payments with a card outside Nigeria.

One of the recent bank products being advertised in Nigeria especially for travellers and people making online payments in foreign currencies is the Naira card. The Naira card comes in variants of Visa and Mastercard and so these are known names which help make Naira cars being issued in Nigeria readily acceptable in foreign currencies.

When travelling to countries like Dubai, New York, London or Canada, you may be tempted to get a Naira card from your bank because you know that it also works abroad.

With a Naira card, a Nigerian can shop online, withdraw money from ATMs globally and also pay at P.O.S. machines.

Sure there are a probably a lot of things you can do wit ha Naira card but as far as I know, Naira cards are probably cool in Nigeria but don't offer good exchange rates when used abroad or on foreign currency websites.

One of the things I notice when trying to use my Naira Visa card in making payments for a foreign currency transaction was that the exchange rate being used by my bank was a bit much higher than what it would have been if I had gotten my own US dollars from the black market and funded a USD card. Maybe, there were also some hidden charges which I didn't know of

Some demerits of using a Naira card abroad
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- It doesn't allow allow for efficient budgeting since it is mostly linked to your bank account in Nigeria
- Naira credit cards may put you in bad debt. Debit cards are better for budgeting
- Exchange rates used by banks are usually higher than if using a foreign currency funded card.
- Exchange rate is not within your control

Naira cards may have their disadvantages when being used abroad rather than a foreign currency card but it does offer some benefits such as convenience and safety of carrying your funds, spending Naira equivalents and not having to source for foreign currency when travelling. I just wish that banks and Naira card providers would ensure that people's account are only debited at official foreign exchange rates and not using higher rates or charges.

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Comments:

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Re: Why a Naira card may not be best for travelling abroad Reply by VINCENT AGGAY on Thursday October 31, 2013 at 21:37:51:

Last year while I was in the UK with my family I withdrew from the ATM machines at exchange rates lower than I bought in the black market in Nigeria




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Re: Why a Naira card may not be best for travelling abroad Reply by Felix Okoli on Thursday October 31, 2013 at 21:37:51:

Nice to know. I wonder which bank that is.


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Re: Why a Naira card may not be best for travelling abroad Reply by delia on Wednesday January 8, 2014 at 2:44:40:

My Nigerian visa card works on and off in the usa - i mean, sometimes i can withdraw money from atms, other times, transaction is denied. Anyone with similar experience?




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Re: Why a Naira card may not be best for travelling abroad Reply by Mimz on Thursday January 9, 2014 at 17:21:14:

Mine works off and on in canada. (UBA naira card). I am often forced to call the bank. One time, i was told that my money is on hold because merchants have not collected their money. I mean, seriously???.
Does anybody know how i can have money transferred into my canadian account? without having to buy dollars from Nigerian black market?





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Comments:
Re: Why a Naira card may not be best for travelling abroad Reply by Prince on Sunday September 13, 2015 at 14:48:56:

GTBank Naira card is the worst yo use abroad in terms of exchange rates. The exchange rates at withdrawal stands far from the international conversion rates. The day I carefully carried out a check and noticed this. It was a huge surprise to me at the difference BTW the two rates

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