Naira vs dollar: Filmmaker, Ayo Shonaiya, gets shocking “black market” rate from GTBank
Nigerian-born entertainment promoter, filmmaker and TV producer, Ayo Shonaiya, has a naira-dollar story that may interest you.
Shonaiya shared the following on Facebook, on Saturday.
CBN vs Black Market
So, as I am a smart guy, or at least that’s what I think I am. With the Naira to Pound/Dollar Exchange Rates going through the roof, I thought, that’s for those buying foreign currency abi? I am not buying Pounds or Dollars, I am spending my good old hard earned Naira… in London.
Armed with my GTBank Naira MasterCard, I headed to Primark with my younger Kids to buy them new underwear and vests, and maybe a couple pairs of socks for myself (yes I do shop at Primark, who doesn’t? Lol). Anyway, the bill came to £83.20, and I’m thinking it’s okay, at least the CBN exchange rate for the Pound as of Friday was N282, so that would be around N23,000 or N24,000 taken from my Naira account. No lele.
Loh and Behold, when I checked my GTBank App this morning, the amount that was debited from my Naira account was N37,770.40, which means the exchange rate from my bank (regulated by CBN) is N454!!! What?!!!
Ladies and gentlemen, there is no such thing as CBN rate again in Nigeria. Don’t pay attention to CBN because CBN is NOT paying attention to YOU, or the Nigerian banks. Everybody is just doing whatever they like now and setting their own exchange rates, and going by my bank’s rates, they are very close to the Black Market rates at £1 to N497 (and most likely going up again).
If I had taken my £83.20 in cash back to Lagos and changed it at N497, I would have N41,350, gone to Mr. Price (yes again, I shop at Mr. Price in Lagos, Lol) and bought my kids underwear and vests, and myself some socks and I wouldn’t spend N22,000!!!
Moral of the story. Buy in Nigeria, spend Naira in Nigeria and nowhere else AND forget CBN, the Banks are the new Abokis in suit and tie.
Will GTBank and the CBN respond to this…publicly?.
