What is PTA Exchange rate?
PTA exchange rate is the USD/NGN prevailing buy and sell market rate at which applicants for Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) and Business Travel Allowance (BTA) who need foreign currencies are ready to pay to meet their FX needs.
PTA means Personal Travel Allowance while BTA means Business Travel Allowance for travellers who need foreign currencies to settle international transactions and services.
There are several questions revolving around the official exchange rate for PTA, BTA, Medical trips, and for students who need to access foreign exchange to settle foreign school fees.
Disclaimer:
The information on this page was fact-checked, however, it is subject to change at any time due to several factors influencing foreign exchange market.
We implore you to check with your banks before submitting your PTA-BTA application on eForm Digital Platform by the CBN. Failure to abide by CBN’s policy may either land you in trouble or forfeit your application or lead to delay.
What Is PTA Exchange Rate in Nigeria Today?
After the unification of the FX market and the floating of the Naira by the administration of President Bola Tinubu, PTA exchange rate jumped from NGN462.00 to N750+ in June 2023.
But since I&E window which the banks in Nigeria also use isn’t stable, here is the latest rate banks will sell Dollars to anyone who is willing to buy FX to pay school fees abroad:
| Currency | Product | Exchange Rate |
| US dollars | PTA/BTA | NGN752.00 |
| Foreign School fees | NGN752.00/$1 | |
| Foreign Medicals | NGN752.00/$1 | |
| Pounds Sterling | PTA/BTA | NGN959.40/£1 |
| Foreign Medicals | NGN959.40/£1 | |
| Foreign School fees | NGN959.40/£1 | |
| Euro | Foreign Medicals | NGN823.82/€1 |
| BTA/PTA | NGN823.82/€1 | |
| Foreign School fees | NGN823.82/€1 |
We’ve covered topics like how to apply for foreign exchange on Trade Monitoring Portal, a platform designed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following the official removal of Bureau De Change operators from the forex exchange chain on July 27, 2021.
Despite the actions of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), findings have shown that all the financial institutions don’t have a unified PTA rate in Nigeria due to some factors and reasons best known to them.
Because of the unstable Fx policy in Nigeria, Nigerians are left with no option to search for “GTBank PTA rate” “Zenith PTA rate” and other search queries for users to get a fair rate.
Limitations to PTA:
There is a limitation to how much PTA and BTA you can access from the bank regardless of your need for school.
| Products | Limitation | Duration |
| PTA | $4,000 | Three months intervals |
| BTA | $5,000 | Three months intervals |
| Foreign School Fees | $15,000 | Per term or semester. Kindly see the full requirements for sales of Forex for school fees in our guide. |
Note: You are to return purchased PTA/BTA to their bank within two (2) weeks from the date of purchase “if not utilized for the intended purpose or if for any reason the scheduled trip is cancelled.”
Recap:
Before accessing forex, you should know the apex bank allows the Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria to make a profit, how much profit they can make from each transaction remains elusive, as such PTA exchange rate isn’t fixed.
What you get from GTBank may be slightly different from what you get from Zenith Bank or any forex-licenced banks in Nigeria.
To avoid delays and frustrating stories from banks, get set all your documents before applying for forex at banks.
If you’re using the online platform, ensure you understand how it works before submitting your application, ask for guidance if you don’t know.
Sources:
CBN. (December 18, 2021). “Exchange Rates Monthly Moving Average”. Central Bank of Nigeria. Retrieved December 18, 2021.