How to make payments on foreign websites from Nigeria despite the Naira card restriction

Posted on Wednesday January 13, 2016 at 9:14:53:

For many Nigerians who now buy things online, one of the most popular means of making payment is the Naira card and for foreign transactions, they use either the Naira Mastercard or Visa. Those are debit, credit or prepaid cards which are normally funded in local currency and issued by Nigerian banks.

I've used the Naira card to make a lot of payments online especially when shopping on US websites such as Amazon and MyUS but lately, the Central Bank of Nigeria has stopped banks from allowing customers to make foreign payments with the Naira card and this has caused a big problem for many online shoppers.

For Nigerians who love to shop online or just make payments that involve foreign currency, the Naira card has long been a trusted platform but now that it's no longer working, there is a need to use another platform. Well, one way you can still keep making payments for foreign transactions from Nigeria despite the Naira card restriction is by using a Foreign currency funded card.

Foreign currency funded are not entirely new to the system but they've been there way long even before Naira cards were enabled for foreign currency payments but when Naira cards came into the picture, they seem to have faded away briefly because it was easier to pay in Naira. However, they've always been available and they do have some benefits over Naira cards.

Foreign currency funded cards are normally funded with a foreign currency such as the US dollar, British Pounds, Euro or Yen and they can be Prepaid or linked to an existing domiciliary account. When your Foreign currency card is Prepaid, it means that you have already provided funds for it and they've been electronically stored on the card but if they are linked to a domiciliary account, then it is a debit card that taps funds from your bank account whenever your want to make payment.

Foreign currency funded cards are mostly of 2 brands which are Visa and Mastercard and they are globally accepted anywhere their brands are supported. One advantage of a foreign currency based card over a Naira card is that it allows you to have better control over the exchange rate unlike the Naira card which fluctuates on a daily basis. Given the fact that the Naira has been losing value since the 1980s, it's actually better to just get a foreign currency card at an exchange rate you want which would most likely remain strong for the long term. Hence a Dollar, Pound or Euro card is a stronger way to store your funds than a Naira card for the long term.

Getting a Foreign currency card at your bank is quite easy and the basic requirements are the normal requirements for opening a bank account in Nigeria which are a passport photo, valid form of identification and an opening balance of about $150(or currency equivalent). If you have an existing domiciliary account, you can easily get a card linked to it for making payments when buying things on US or other foreign websites from Nigeria.