Access Bank has conditioned its release of foreign exchange (FX) for school fees abroad, and maintenance/upkeep requests, on the availability of the required currency.
The financial institution made this disclosure via an email addressed to prospective applicants of FX.
Noting that dollars would only be made available to customers who intend to use the currency for educational purposes, Access Bank maintained that its release would now be determined by its availability.
Access Bank said the required FX would be provided within a period of 60 days.
The email notice read: “We value your relationship with us and would like to keep you informed on changes regarding our fulfillment of FX requests. International school fees are processed for customers who initiate their request via Access Bank.
“Applications will be processed and disbursed within 60 days from the date of approval, subject to FX availability, provided funds and documents are in line with requirements.
“Maintenance/upkeep requests are processed once yearly per applicant for a maximum amount of $1,500 and only for customers whose school fees were processed via Access Bank.
“This is subject to maintenance/upkeep not having already been disbursed previously at any time this year and requests will be fulfilled within 60 days from the approval date, subject to FX availability.
“For the rest of the year, PTA/BTA requests will be processed just once for applicants who log their request 14 days before the travel date.
“As of January 2023 however, applicants will be entitled to only 2 fulfilled PTA/BTA requests a year. Disbursement will always be subject to FX availability.”
BizWatch Nigeria understands that this development may be unconnected to the scarcity of dollars, which has become more intense since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed its plan to redesign N100, N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes.