After nearly three years of restrictions, Nigerian banks have resumed international transactions on naira cards, marking a major shift in the country’s retail banking landscape. United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Wema Bank are among the first to reinstate this service, citing improved foreign exchange (FX) market conditions.
UBA announced that its Premium Naira Cards, Gold, Platinum, and World variants are now active for global usage. According to a statement sent to customers, the bank emphasized its commitment to offering “seamless and enhanced banking experiences,” enabling cardholders to make international payments, shop online, and withdraw cash from ATMs globally.
Wema Bank also confirmed the move, stating that customers can now make dollar payments on platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Netflix, and Spotify using their Naira Mastercard. “Your Wema Naira Mastercard just went global,” the bank declared, tapping into Nigeria’s growing appetite for international digital services.
Industry experts attribute the policy reversal to key improvements in Nigeria’s foreign exchange ecosystem.
This policy shift reverses a period of prolonged restriction during which banks like Standard Chartered, First Bank, Zenith, and GTBank suspended naira card usage abroad due to dollar scarcity. From mid-2022 to early 2023, nearly all major banks and fintechs, including Flutterwave and Eversend, halted cross-border naira card payments, frustrating consumers and limiting access to international services.
Now, as macroeconomic conditions stabilize, the reactivation of naira cards for international use is expected to transform consumer behavior. Nigerians can bypass virtual dollar cards, third-party platforms, or domiciliary accounts to make seamless global payments using local currency-linked cards.
This renewed access to cross-border transactions enhances convenience and supports Nigeria’s inclusion in the digital global economy. The move also promises to restore lost revenue for international service providers that had been inaccessible to Nigerian consumers.
With UBA, Wema Bank, and GTBank paving the way, analysts expect other Nigerian banks to quickly follow suit. Competitive pressure in the dynamic financial services sector will likely drive broader reactivation, especially as FX reforms continue to deepen under the Central Bank of Nigeria’s strategic interventions.
For customers and the broader economy, the return of global access via naira cards signifies more than a technical banking update, it’s a bold signal of returning confidence, macroeconomic progress, and reintegration into global financial flows.
