Card obligations expose banks to open-ended FX risks

Nigerian banks have continued to reduce their customers’ international payment and ATM limits, with many reducing the limits to $5-15k annually (from $50k), $1k monthly and as low as $100 daily. This has been necessary because customers’ international transactions create open-ended FX exposure for the banks, as they have to source FX to settle with MasterCard/Visa. Given the CBN’s inability to sufficiently meet banks’ FX demand for these settlements and the losses the banks could face if a devaluation occurs while their positions remain unsettled, we think the logical thing to do is to scale down customers’ spending limits, with the risk being that, if FX scarcity persists, the Nigerian banks could shut down international debit card usage, as already announced by Diamond Bank and Standard Chartered (not covered).

http://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/western-africa/2015/12/22/nigerian-banks-struggling-for-forex-liquidity/

Okay... It makes sense. But Na only we dey settle them? Them nor dey settle us.