Thousands of United Kingdom and Canadian visa applicants and intending travellers wanting to book hotels online were stranded on Monday as Deposit Money Banks stopped their naira debit cards from
being used for dollar and other foreign currency-denominated transactions.The DMBs had on Friday stopped their naira debit cards from dispensing dollars to customers via Automated Teller Machines in foreign countries, as well as disallowed the cards from being used for online and Point of Sale transactions.The banks cited dollar scarcity and volatility in the foreign exchange market as reasons.
Guaranty Trust Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Stanbic IBTC Bank have already stopped the withdrawal of foreign currencies from the ATMs by their customers who travel abroad and cut the value of their online and PoS transactions to $100 per month.The development made the UK visa applicants wanting to pay the mandatory $118 for the six-month and $499 for the two-year visas through their naira debit cards to be stranded.Payment for the UK visa is done online via the government-designated website.Travelling agents and applicants said they could not complete the UK visa application procedures on Monday. They said payments with naira debit cards of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Ecobank Nigeria, United Bank for Africa Plc and other banks were declined.
It was further learnt that intending travellers and visa applicants wanting to make hotel booking online could not do so as their transactions via the naira debit cards were declined by the banks.
“This is terrible. I am finding it difficult to pay for my UK visa online. I have filled the form. I have got to the payment section and I was trying to pay online but the transaction was declined,” a visa applicant, who identified himself simply as John, told our correspondent at the UK visa application centre in Victoria Island, Lagos on Monday.Travelling agents assisting the visa applicants to fill their forms said they found it difficult to make payment for UK and Canadian visas online using naira debit cards.The Chief Executive Officer, Flying Partner, a Lagos-based travel agency, Mr. Kunle Oladele, said, “We could not make payment for the UK and Canadian visa applications online. The few payments we made were done through our partners in foreign countries, who used international debit cards issued by foreign banks.“We called our partners in South Africa, UK and the United States to do so for us. It is very terrible. I am not sure we can continue like this. Canadian visa applicants will have to go to the country’s visa office now.”
Guaranty Trust Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Stanbic IBTC Bank have already stopped the withdrawal of foreign currencies from the ATMs by their customers who travel abroad and cut the value of their online and PoS transactions to $100 per month.The development made the UK visa applicants wanting to pay the mandatory $118 for the six-month and $499 for the two-year visas through their naira debit cards to be stranded.Payment for the UK visa is done online via the government-designated website.Travelling agents and applicants said they could not complete the UK visa application procedures on Monday. They said payments with naira debit cards of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Ecobank Nigeria, United Bank for Africa Plc and other banks were declined.
It was further learnt that intending travellers and visa applicants wanting to make hotel booking online could not do so as their transactions via the naira debit cards were declined by the banks.
“This is terrible. I am finding it difficult to pay for my UK visa online. I have filled the form. I have got to the payment section and I was trying to pay online but the transaction was declined,” a visa applicant, who identified himself simply as John, told our correspondent at the UK visa application centre in Victoria Island, Lagos on Monday.Travelling agents assisting the visa applicants to fill their forms said they found it difficult to make payment for UK and Canadian visas online using naira debit cards.The Chief Executive Officer, Flying Partner, a Lagos-based travel agency, Mr. Kunle Oladele, said, “We could not make payment for the UK and Canadian visa applications online. The few payments we made were done through our partners in foreign countries, who used international debit cards issued by foreign banks.“We called our partners in South Africa, UK and the United States to do so for us. It is very terrible. I am not sure we can continue like this. Canadian visa applicants will have to go to the country’s visa office now.”
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