Why Nigerians should make payments to US merchants with a Dollar card

The more Nigerians use their Naira cards for making payments to US merchants, the more the Naira will keep losing value to the US dollar and that's part of what contributes to weakening the Naira. Nigeria is already an import dependent nation as we import a lot of things such as toothpicks and frozen chicken. It would be better to save the value of the Naira by only using it for Naira payments and then using a Dollar card for US dollar payments.

There was once a time when Naira denominated cards issued by Nigerians banks were not accepted on US websites like Amazon and Asos but later on, banks activated them for use and in partnership with Visa and Mastercard, Nigerians were able to buy things and make payments directly on US websites that accepted payments from international buyers. Nowadays, however, Naira cards are getting out of fashion and it has gotten to an extent that Nigerian banks are no longer willing to allow them make payments on foreign websites or for foreign transactions.

Dollar cards have always been there and they still work for you when you want to make payments on US websites like Amazon and Asos. One benefit of using a Dollar card to make payments in foreign currency is that there are no fluctuating exchange rates associated with using it since it is in the same currency that the US merchant accepts. A Naira card gives you a lower value for your money as time passes given the import dependent tendency of Nigeria's economy that has left our currency mostly weaker than the US dollar.

A US dollar card can be a Mastercard or Visa and the currency used to fund it is the US dollars which offers a much safer haven for your money for the long term. It can be a Prepaid card or a debit card linked to your Domiciliary bank account and it would still have the benefit of being a good store of your money because of it's stability as a global currency.

Morea and more Nigerians who make payments in foreign currency such as travellers and online shoppers are now finding that getting a Dollar card is their next reliable option because of the ban placed n Naira cards for foreign transactions. Even if there were no bans placed on Naira cards, it may not really be ideal to use it when making payments in foreign currency and better suited for local transactions. A reason for that is because of the fact that it keeps losing value to the US dollar over the long term such as a period of 2 years or before your card expires.

A Naira card that was issued in 2004 had a less value than it originally did against the US dollar in 2006 and so it only makes the holder spend more as time passes. It would have been better to just have a Dollar card dedicated for foreign currency payments for the long term as it's more likely to remain the same value.

The Dollar card is also more readily accepted nto just in US stores but acreoss the world because it is backed by the US dollar which is seen as a global currency. Using a Naira card in a different country may require it to be first converted to the US dollar and then the local currency of that country which brings a lot of charges and unfavourable exchange rate for you. If it was a US dollar card, you can easily make payments at foreign P.O.S. machines, websites and also make ATM withdrawals easily.

When making payments to a US based seller, it's more easy to know how much funds you need since you already know your account balance and it helps yout to easily budget your money. With a Naira card, it's not easy to know how to budget your money or know how much exactly it's going to cost you until you make the payment. Some Nigerians have had a bad experience with making payments with a Naira card and were alarmed by the high exchange rate used. With a US dollar card, you can hardly spent more than what you were billed if it's in US dollars.

To get a US dollar card in Nigeria is not too hard as all you need to do is apply for it at your bank using the basic requirements such as a valid id card, passport photo, proof of address and the funds. You can get funds from the black market, friends or from your contacts abroad through bank wires if you have a domiciliary account.

So, the benefits of using a Dollar card as a Nigerian are that it saves the Naira from further devaluation, it is a good store of your funds for the long term, it allows you to easily budget your money and it's more readily accepted across the world because of it's popular currency. You should get one from your bank if you are interested in making payments for a foreign transaction.