How to block a UBA ATM card

2. Check whether USSD blocks your card or your account

A broader account restriction may be appropriate if a thief also has your SIM or banking credentials. Do not assume an account-blocking method is a card-only lock. Use the reviewed row’s action and notes to check the scope, and have UBA confirm that the missing card itself is disabled.

If the emergency method is unavailable or fails, stay with the Fraud Help Desk or use UBA’s official self-service. Do not spend time trying shortcuts from social-media comments.

3. Use UBA’s official ‘Block My Card’ service

UBA’s official self-service page has separate ‘Block My Card’ and ‘Block My Account’ options. Choose the card option for a missing card; use account restriction as well if the account is at risk. The card-block portal starts by asking for your account number.

If you still have safe access to UBA Mobile, use its card/self-service controls where available. The official web portal below is a fallback if the app’s menus differ or you cannot find the card option. Do not sign in on a stranger’s phone or follow a link sent by someone offering to recover your money.

Keep the confirmation. A screen that merely accepted your request is not a reason to ignore further suspicious debits; contact the Fraud Help Desk again if anything changes.

Official sources: UBA: card and account self-service; UBA: official Block Card portal

4. Replace a stolen card rather than trusting a recovered one

Ask UBA whether the block is permanent or a reversible restriction. The official pages cited here do not promise a universal unblocking process or deadline. If someone else possessed the card, request cancellation and replacement even if it later turns up.

UBA advertises new and replacement debit cards through its Card Dispense Kiosks. Confirm a suitable branch or kiosk, the identification needed and the current fee before travelling. UBA does not publish a single replacement time covering every card and location on the cited page.

After replacement, update any legitimate recurring payments that used the old card. Blocking a card does not itself refund transactions that happened before the block.

Official sources: UBA: debit cards and Card Dispense Kiosks

5. Open a fraud dispute, not just a lost-card request

If the card was stolen, record where and when it happened and report the theft to the police when safe. Do not delay the bank block while obtaining a police report. For each unauthorised debit, keep the date, amount, transaction reference and merchant or ATM details from your statement.

Ask the Fraud Help Desk to register the unauthorised transactions separately from the card cancellation. UBA’s Download Centre lists ‘Chargeback for unauthorised transaction’ and ‘Chargeback for fraudulent transaction’ forms. Ask UBA which form applies, where to send it and whether supporting documents are needed.

Request the investigation timeline and keep the reference. A failed ATM transaction is not the same as a theft-related debit: failed-transaction reversal windows are not promises of a fraud refund. If the complaint remains unresolved, use the CBN’s published escalation process after first complaining to UBA.

Official sources: UBA: chargeback and card forms; CBN: how to lodge a complaint