T&T US Dollar Shortage Intensifies: Scotiabank Halts Foreign Transactions on Debit Cards

In Trinidad and Tobago, just over five weeks after informing customers of a reduced US dollar spending limit on its Visa debit card, Scotiabank has now halted all overseas purchases and withdrawals on that card.

The Express Newspaper is reporting that Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago is also planning to lower the US-dollar spending cap on its credit cards.

Effective December 1, weeks before Christmas, Scotiabank customers with personal credit cards, with the exception of the Aero Mastercard Black, will face a reduced maximum limit of US $2,000 US dollars.

The bank attributes its decision to so called “foreign exchange considerations” in Trinidad and Tobago.

The move has not gone down well with business groups.

Chairman of the Confederation of Regional Business Chambers, Vivek Charran, told the Express that Scotiabank’s reduced credit card access to US dollars could have a crippling effect on individuals who travel, especially those doing so for business.

Charran says the maximum sum of US dollars business people can access, after presenting banks with proof that they are travelling for business purposes, is between US $300 and US $500.