The latest foreign exchange product introduced by GTCO, the parent company of GTBank, will disrupt the operations of black market operators.
This innovative solution enables customers to instantly convert their dollars to naira through internet banking, providing unparalleled convenience.
Bank customers can now effortlessly convert the funds in their domiciliary accounts from the comfort of their homes or offices, as banks continue to push the boundaries of innovation.
Currently, GTBank stands as the sole provider of this service through its internet banking platform, but other banks are expected to follow suit in the near future.
According to customer feedback, the bank allows conversions of up to $50,000 to naira on a daily basis. However, customers have noted that the option to convert naira to dollar is currently unavailable.
This development carries significant implications, as it significantly minimizes the risks associated with transacting with street traders, colloquially known as ‘Aboki’, for foreign currency exchange.
These risks include the possibility of accepting counterfeit currency and encountering unfavorable exchange rates.
A Lagos-based investment banker emphasized that this advancement would significantly mitigate such risks and simultaneously boost dollar inflows into the country’s foreign exchange (FX) market.
Oluwaseun Tijani, a tech lover, tweeted, “This makes a lot of sense, especially for remote workers that are struggling to exchange their foreign earnings. With this, there is no need to withdraw at the canter and run after Akobi before exchanging FX.”
“The parallel market will die slowly or become so irrelevant,” tweeted HallenjayArt.
“You can convert your US dollars in your GTBank domiciliary account to naira directly on our platform. It’s as instant as a regular transfer between accounts. Simply log into internet banking, click on FX transactions, and choose FX sales. Please note that you convert up to UD$50,000 daily,” the bank said.
“I tried this and it worked! Exchange rate was $/N771.5. We have been living in bondage since. We simply incentivised inflow into the parallel market and created that wide gap for no good reason,” Wilson Erumebor, senior economist, at the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), tweeted. He said if it is easy to instantly transfer foreign currency from one bank to another without stress, then the rates will be competitive across banks.
“It’s an unnecessary regulation that breeds corruption and arbitrage. People should be able to transfer across banks,” he tweeted.
“The relevance of the parallel market is mostly about buying scarce dollars with naira and not about changing dollars to naira. The only way for black market to die is for banks to also allow customers to buy $1000 every month through internet banking,” Little Rock at ObeleOkwute, tweeted.
Samson J, estate manager, tweeted that the exchange rate of N771 to a dollar is too high. “That means I can buy from black market and deposit to my GTBank dollar account to make more money,” he said.