My Honest Review of the Providus Bank Platinum Naira Card

If you find yourself reading this post, you are probably looking out for more information on the Providus Bank Platinum Naira Card. You probably heard that it works well on international platforms and you are looking for more details. I promise that this post will do a lot of justice to your inquisitiveness. If you have further questions regarding the Providus Bank Platinum Naira card (that is not explained in this post), kindly use the comment section and I will ensure I respond to your questions. Let’s move on to answering your questions…

Providus Bank Platinum Card: A Card that Works Across Borders

In late 2022, several commercial banks in Nigeria announced that their naira cards would no longer process international payments. They blamed the Central Bank’s policy and the depletion of the country’s national reserve and further asked Nigerians to get a domiciliary account and obtain a dollar debit card to process international transactions. This gave rise to baby Fintech companies extorting money from Nigerians by selling dollars above the black market rate to Nigerians.

Fast forward to July 2023, some banks opened up their naira cards to international platforms after a new Central Bank policy allowed them to sell FX to customers at a self-determined rate. The banks and Bureau de Change abused the policy by selling dollars at a very high rate. In August, the Central Bank reviewed the policy and set a limit on how much banks should sell a dollar. This led to another protest by the banks and they shut down international payments on naira cards again and, blamed the Central Bank’s Policy.

Is it the Central Bank? Or they are just being too greedy and want to sell their dollars to the public at ridiculous costs? Well, just like you, I had to buy hosting and domain names for clients and renew subscriptions, so I needed a card that works anywhere. I used ChipperCash, Klasha and Grey.co for card payments, but the fees were ridiculous. From card funding fees to monthly maintenance to failed transaction charges. That was the height of it all, Chippercash and Klasha threatening to charge a dollar every time a transaction failed on my card – it was ridiculous you know…

I learned Chippercash now charges a fee for receiving dollars in your virtual card – fees no dey finish! After paying ridiculously high exchange rates, I would still be paying unending fees? This frustration pushed me to do further investigation and I was curious to find naira cards that process international transactions. I was on Facebook, Twitter (now X) and Google Search doing a search on which naira cards worked well on international platforms. I visited the websites of virtually all the licensed commercial banks on the NIBSS website and discovered only Providus Bank has an active feature for settling international transactions on their cards.

I headed to Twitter (now X) to research the card but the details were limited. I only saw cardholders of Providus Bank boasting of how their cards work on all websites despite the alleged Central Bank’s policy. A lady even went on to boast that her card could respond in North Korea… lol. I saw a few tweets stating clearly that the card charges FX using the black market rate. I was disappointed but had no choice; at least fees no go dey! My mind was made up that I needed the card, so I started acting.

Providus Bank makes it clear that I must be a savings or current account holder before I can request any of their cards. My current location is Ondo City in Ondo State and there are no branches of Providus Bank around me. I might have to travel about fifty (50) kilometres to the State’s Capital before finding a Providus Bank branch.

How I Opened my Providus Bank Savings Account

I concluded the best way to open an account with Providus Bank would be online. It had to be instant as well, so I headed to Providus Bank’s website but could not find any online account opening form. Instead, I found an offline form I would be required to fill out and send by email to their business concierge.

That did not interest me, so I downloaded the Providus Plus app (Providus Bank’s Official Android application) and launched it. I was able to open an account instantly and submitted my Identity Card (used my virtual NIN slip), a scanned copy of my utility bill (as proof of address), a headshot photo of myself (as passport photograph) and a scanned copy of my signature. I also provided my Bank Verification Number (BVN) for authentication and boom, my Providus Savings Account was ready. This happened on a Friday…

The following Monday morning, Providus Bank came to verify my address and my account was fully approved – no more limits.

How I Requested for the Providus Bank Platinum Naira Card

I reached out to Providus Bank via Facebook and requested their Platinum Naira Card. If you are reaching out through Facebook, ensure you open a chat with the bank’s verified profile to avoid getting defrauded.

I was required to deposit a minimum of a hundred thousand naira (#100,000) to activate my account and request a card. I have heard people say the minimum opening balance in Providus Bank is two hundred and fifty thousand naira (#250,000) so I asked customer support if the minimum opening balance has been reduced. She informed me that if I opened a savings account online, the minimum account opening balance would be a hundred thousand naira (#100,000), but if I walked into any of their branches to open an account, the minimum opening balance would be two hundred and fifty thousand naira (#250,000). If you want a naira card that works on international platforms with a lower budget, you should check this out.

She further enlightened me that the platinum naira MasterCard is five thousand and two hundred naira (#5,200) while the classic naira MasterCard is a thousand and two hundred naira (#1,200) only. I indicated interest in the platinum card because it has a higher monthly international spending limit of three thousand dollars ($3000) while the classic naira card has a monthly international spending limit of a thousand and two hundred dollars ($1,200).

I funded my account with a hundred thousand naira and customer support called the number on my account to be sure it was the account owner requesting the card. In three working days (Wednesday night), my account was charged a total of almost five thousand, two hundred naira. I received a temporary PIN for my card activation on the morning of Thursday. By evening, I received a call from Providus Bank to confirm my address which I did.

Towards nightfall on Thursday, I got a text message from DHL with a tracking number stating I had a package from Providus Bank. It was shipped from the Lagos Headquarters of Providus Bank to my location in Ondo State under 24 hours and it was such a discount to discover that Providus Bank handled the courier fees. I only tipped the delivery guy because of the stress he had with locating my residence…

Unboxing my Card

Upon receiving the parcel from the delivery guy, I went inside and opened it up. I thought Providus Bank would be generous enough to include a shirt, cap or card purse in my parcel but NO! All I found in the parcel was a white envelope containing my platinum card and a piece of paper with general information( limits and benefits) on the Providus Platinum Mastercard.

I was satisfied with the quality of the card and told myself it was worth the hype and the price. Apart from having a five-year validity, your name, card numbers and expiry date would be engraved on the Providus Platinum card. I was proud to join the gang! Sometimes, I flash it to oppress people lol. I didn’t have to worry about my name or card numbers fading off since they were engraved and not printed like the conventional Nigerian banks do.

I immediately tried paying with the card on a platform but was informed it had not been activated. This was strange to my hearing and got me scared. I called Providus Bank and I was told to change the card PIN on any bank’s ATM, preferably a Zenith Bank or a Providus Bank ATM. Remember I stated that Providus Bank mailed me a temporary card PIN on Thursday morning? So I was asked to change from the temporary PIN to my PIN of choice.

I headed to Zenith Bank the next day since the only Providus Bank close to me was about 50km away. The machine was not dispensing cash when I got there – I didn’t need cash though. I headed straight to the ATM, logged in with the temporary PIN and selected the CHANGE PIN option on the machine. I changed my PIN to something more personal and tried using my card for an international transaction, and boom, it went through. I congratulated myself at that moment and was glad I was finally redeemed from Chippercash and Klasha’s fees.

My Experience using Providus Bank Account and the Platinum Naira Card – Goods and the Bad

Every service should have its pros and cons and I believe you expect that of Providus Bank. I have used the Providus Bank account and Platinum card for about two months and I can only relate to my experience using their service within this time frame. If anything changes about their services, I will update this post.

PROS	CONS
Good bank service/network quality since they do not have a lot of customers/traffic	Cards are charged at Black Market Rates for international transactions
No monthly fees or minimum account balance is required on the account (you can withdraw all your money)	The only fees I am aware of on the Providus Bank account are transaction fees and SMS charges which are usually billed once monthly (SMS charges)
No conversion fees and higher international spending limit	If the international transaction is not settled the exact day the transaction is initiated, you will be charged the prevailing exchange rate the day it is settled. You may end up paying more or less.
Quick processing of your card request, free dispatch and premium card design with perks.	Sometimes when the dollar falls, Providus Bank does not adjust their rates in real time. You may end up paying more than the current black market rate.

My Conclusion: Is a Providus Bank Platinum Card Worth the Hype?

No doubt, it is worth the hype. It is flashy, looks like a premium card and can be used to oppress lol. I was shocked by the acceptance rate of my Providus Bank Platinum Naira card because it never responded with a declined transaction unless my card was not properly funded. I have used it to buy crypto on Binance and Kucoin and I have also used it for a Stripe payment. It is very effective for Facebook Ads, Apple subscriptions, Google Ads, Netflix and Aliexpress.

You will not be paying a monthly card fee, funding fees or declined transaction fees like some virtual card monopolists are trying to make you do. You will also be able to make withdrawals from your card abroad using Point of Sale terminals or the Automated Teller Machine (ATM).

If you use the internet for your business, then you should get the Providus Bank Platinum Naira Debit Mastercard. It is a lifesaver and is worth using.

Frequently Asked Questions on the Providus Platinum Naira Card

If you have more questions regarding the Providus Bank Platinum Naira Card, feel free to leave a comment and I will do well to answer as promptly as possible…