Access Bank has informed its customers that applications to obtain dollars for school fees abroad, maintenance/upkeep requests will now be determined by availability of the foreign currency.
The financial institution updated account holders on its forex policy through an email, stating that dollars will only be made available to customers that used its firm to process international school fees.
Aside from the request for funds and documents, Access Bank said the application is subject to FX availability, and the forex will be provided within 60 days of approval.
“We value your relationship with us and would like to keep you informed on changes regarding our fulfilment 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.”
The statement also disclosed that, “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.”
Access Bank explained, “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.”
Meanwhile, Bureau De Change operators supplied the dollars at various rates in the black market, going for as high as N1000/$1 depending on the trader.
A trader based in the Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos, lamented the dollar scarcity, saying the development had pushed up the exchange rate from N900/$1 he sold the currency on Thursday.
However, some Bureau De Change operators offered the currency at a reduced rate of N865/$.