Access Bank Reduces Forex Payout For International Students, Traders

Access Bank has reviewed its foreign exchange (FX) application for international school fees, a move that indicates other banks might follow suit.

Account holders of Access Bank received a message titled; “important information on Form A request’, informing them that the processing time and amount of foreign exchange they can access has been changed, with the latter increased, while the former was reduced.

Prime Business Africa gathered that the processing time was increased to 120 days from 48 hours as Access Bank can no longer guarantee quick disbursement of foreign exchange due to the scarcity of Dollars, which has seen the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) tighten access to forex. 

Also, the company disclosed that applications for Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) will now receive $2,000 instead of the previously fixed amount of $4,000. 

Similarly, Access Bank said henceforth, it can only disburse $2,000 for applicants of Business Travel Allowance (BTA), reducing the amount from $5,000. 

The message reads; “We value your relationship with us and would like to keep you informed on updates regarding our fulfilment of Form A requests. 

“PTA / BTA requests have now processed a maximum of twice annually per applicant to the tune of $2,000 per application where the request is within 14 days of the travel date. International school fees and Upkeep requests are processed within 120 days from the date of approval. 

“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.”