I know many people do online transactions with their master card and visa cards. which nigerian banks offer the best packages in terms of commission, charges, maintenance and the likes. I have never used mastercard for online transactions but i have visa dollar debit card from gtb which they charge $50 first year and $30 the second year, though they never charge transaction fee. I dont know what other banks charge, i want to compare because i need another card for my transaction? I dont know may be mastercard (naira ATM card ) is good for international pos and is user friendly in as much that bank uses their own exchange rate.
Any help?

Well ...most people don't use Master Card dollar anymore cos it requires that you buy dollars to fund your account. Your bank will not sell you the required dollars and getting it from the mallams can be hectic so we all use Master Card Naira.

With Master Card naira, the equivalent Dollar to Naira value is deducted from your account according to the day's rate. Sometimes it might be higher and at other times favorable. I always check on oanda.com the current day's value before making purchase and most times its just correct.

As for the banks, I use Zenith Bank Master Card Naira for purchases online and so far so good no issues. No commission charged (maybe I don't notice it though but they are good).

Now when it comes to withdrawals outside Nigeria ...AVOID Zenith Bank's Master Card Naira ....they charge you like N600 for every withdrawal made ...used to be N480 This area is where I use GTBank Master Card Naira ....they charge N240.

Why I don't use GTBank Master Card Naira for online transactions? They seem to have the poorest security and highest number of card fraud cases (people losing money from their accounts after online transactions ....don't know how it happens but I try to avoid that). I've never had such issues with Zenith Bank though.

Card Services on Zenith bank very good also and I think same with GTBank too.

So by and large I would advise you chose between the two which ever works best for you. Other banks may be good too ...FCMB, Diamond Bank, First Bank etc ...but I've not tried them.

4bobo: I know many people do online transactions with their master card and visa cards. which nigerian banks offer the best packages in terms of commission, charges, maintenance and the likes. I have never used mastercard for online transactions but i have visa dollar debit card from gtb which they charge $50 first year and $30 the second year, though they never charge transaction fee. I dont know what other banks charge, i want to compare because i need another card for my transaction? I dont know may be mastercard (naira ATM card ) is good for international pos and is user friendly in as much that bank uses their own exchange rate.
Any help?

FCMB Naira Mastercard is very good

bigtt76: Well ...most people don't use Master Card dollar anymore cos it requires that you buy dollars to fund your account. Your bank will not sell you the required dollars and getting it from the mallams can be hectic so we all use Master Card Naira.

With Master Card naira, the equivalent Dollar to Naira value is deducted from your account according to the day's rate. Sometimes it might be higher and at other times favorable. I always check on oanda.com the current day's value before making purchase and most times its just correct.

As for the banks, I use Zenith Bank Master Card Naira for purchases online and so far so good no issues. No commission charged (maybe I don't notice it though but they are good).

Now when it comes to withdrawals outside Nigeria ...AVOID Zenith Bank's Master Card Naira ....they charge you like N600 for every withdrawal made ...used to be N480 This area is where I use GTBank Master Card Naira ....they charge N240.

Why I don't use GTBank Master Card Naira for online transactions? They seem to have the poorest security and highest number of card fraud cases (people losing money from their accounts after online transactions ....don't know how it happens but I try to avoid that). I've never had such issues with Zenith Bank though.

Card Services on Zenith bank very good also and I think same with GTBank too.

So by and large I would advise you chose between the two which ever works best for you. Other banks may be good too ...FCMB, Diamond Bank, First Bank etc ...but I've not tried them.

Thanks, that means i have to open an account with the zenith bank and request for the atm card, Right? i just want an alternate to my visa dollar card that will expire this month end, i cant afford to lose another 50$ while i can get it cheaper elsewhere. Gtb master card also is not my interest before. They have tried to force it on me, but i always tell them i dont do atm stuff except intenet banking. so now, i need to go back to atm i guess.
By the way , on which account do you do transaction, current or savings?

ITbomb: FCMB Naira Mastercard is very good

i dont like fcmb . They have charged my wife's account red. she has stopped using it since and they kept charging her to the negative account balance. She uses zenith now, and she always tell me they never charge transaction fee, but she too doesnt use their atm, so i dont know their POS charges.

Access Bank Visa Card.

Yes you have to open an account with Zenith Bank and request the Master card Naira. They have prepaid cards though but don't know if they do have Master Card Naira Prepaid. Prepaid do not require having an account with them. I transact on my Savings account. Might be the reason for the high charges on Withdrawals outside Nigeria. My GT card is on Current Account. All the best.

4bobo:
Thanks, that means i have to open an account with the zenith bank and request for the atm card, Right? i just want an alternate to my visa dollar card that will expire this month end, i cant afford to lose another 50$ while i can get it cheaper elsewhere. Gtb master card also is not my interest before. They have tried to force it on me, but i always tell them i dont do atm stuff except intenet banking. so now, i need to go back to atm i guess.
By the way , on which account do you do transaction, current or savings?

Any new update on these Naira Master card chages

I think Zenith is a bit fine for most Naira Mastercard transactions.
Trouble with them is that the exchange rate amount they use can be quite high.
Say for instance you want to pay $100 online.
And the official market exchange rate at the time of your payment is $1 to N200.
If you pay with your Zenith card, expect that the exchange rate they will use for you will be $1 to N213
Although this figure may be reconciled later on to about $1 to N209. But that depends on unknown factors.

GT bank also has a similar exchange practice but can be worse initially.
It appears as though GTbank marks your account once you make the first foreign payment within a period of 30 days.

Now let's take the $100 online payment example again.
With GTB, for your first payment, you may get an initial exchange rate of $1 to N219 (yes VERY HIGH!)
Then they put some more of your money under hold (still wondering why?). After about 2-3 weeks they will reconcile your account and charge you a certain rate which depends on how frequently you have used the card to pay online.
If it is your first time, you may get an exchange rate of about $1 to N208. However, if you are a frequent user, you will likely get it at $1 to N216.
Note: the more frequently you pay with your GT Naira Mastercard, the higher the exchange rate they will charge you!


I don't know about First bank, but if anyone here has used their Naira Mastercard then let's know how they work.

Any new update on zenith Bank Mastercard atm charges abroad ?

bigtt76:
Yes you have to open an account with Zenith Bank and request the Master card Naira. They have prepaid cards though but don't know if they do have Master Card Naira Prepaid. Prepaid do not require having an account with them. I transact on my Savings account. Might be the reason for the high charges on Withdrawals outside Nigeria. My GT card is on Current Account. All the best.

Pls do you know if master card can be isssued to savings account owners at zenith bank??

Yes it is issued to savings account holders once you apply for it. They used to issue Visa cards but I think that has changed.

Abcruz:
Pls do you know if master card can be isssued to savings account owners at zenith bank??

bigtt76:
Yes it is issued to savings account holders once you apply for it. They used to issue Visa cards but I think that has changed.

alright Thanks. I'll consider opening an account with them having read good reviews about their services. Sorry to bother you, do you know if they still allow online transactions?

I think they've blocked online transactions for now. I use UBA for now and they've been reliable except for high exchange rates. I would advise you explore the likes of StanbicIBTC and UBA when it comes to online transactions. They seem to have the best exchange rates. All the best.

Abcruz:
alright Thanks. I'll consider opening an account with them having read good reviews about their services. Sorry to bother you, do you know if they still allow online transactions?

bigtt76:
I think they've blocked online transactions for now. I use UBA for now and they've been reliable except for high exchange rates. I would advise you explore the likes of StanbicIBTC and UBA when it comes to online transactions. They seem to have the best exchange rates. All the best.

oh i see! Thanks for the insight. I'm thinking of using UBA instead of GTB which i once had in mind. but do they also give master card to savings account owners?

please which Master Card Naira can I use to open paypal account, have tried alot to use my UBA Master Card Naira to open it but its not working. pls help

Yes they do. Likewise all other banks.

Abcruz:
oh i see! Thanks for the insight. I'm thinking of using UBA instead of GTB which i once had in mind. but do they also give master card to savings account owners?

bigtt76:
Yes they do. Likewise all other banks.

ok. Thanks once more.

You're welcome dear.

Abcruz:
ok. Thanks once more.