Access Bank to limit students’ FX allocation, others

Access Bank Plc has declared its intention to block dollar requests for individuals without accounts in its system.

In a circular sent to its customers on Sunday, Access Bank said it was reviewing its policy on foreign currency transactions.

The statement was directed to Nigerian students with tuition obligations and in need of upkeep at their schools abroad.

The lender said the decision was made to ensure optimisation of forex allocation.

The development, according to the bank, will be in place for the next five months.

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Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria had denied the cancellation of Form A, used to obtain FX for Nigerian students schooling abroad.

Banks have been making changes to their FX policy due to dollar scarcity in the country.

The Access Bank’s statement followed the rise in Nigeria’s foreign reserves from $38.4 billion from $39.4 billion.

The statement read: “We will process only one Maintenance/Upkeep request yearly per applicant for a maximum amount of $1,500 and only for customers whose school fees were processed through Access Bank. This is subject to Maintenance/Upkeep not having already been disbursed previously at any time this year.

“Where the original school fees payments were settled through other banks, we will not process the corresponding Maintenance/Upkeep requests. Applicants will be advised to contact the bank that originally processed their school fees

“All applications that meet the above criteria will be processed and disbursed within 30 days from the date of approval, confirming that funds and documents are in line with requirements and will remain subject to FX availability

“PTA/BTA requests will be processed and disbursed subject to FX availability and within 14 days of approval.”