The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed commercial banks and other financial institutions operating Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in the country not to load banknotes above N200.
In a circular, the central bank said this move is to deepen its cashless policy and reduce the volume of cash transactions in the financial system.
Recall that on October 26, 2022, the Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, announced at a press conference that the higher Naira notes would be redesigned.
He explained that this was because over 80 per cent of cash in circulation was dwelling outside the vaults of commercial banks in the country.
This implied that the cash was in possession of politicians, kidnappers and other criminals. To control the cash in circulation, he said President Muhammadu Buhari approved the redesigning of the Naira.
Last month, Mr Buhari unveiled the new notes, and according to plans, they would be in circulation from December 15, while the old notes would cease to be legal tender after January 31, 2023.
To increase the use of electronic transfers, the apex bank has placed limits on cash withdrawals via over-the-counter (OTC), ATMs and others.
In the notice, the CBN said customers would no longer be able to withdraw more than N20,000 per day via the ATM and N100,000 per week via the same channel.
“The maximum cash withdrawal per week via Automated Teller Machine (ATM)) shall be N100,000, subject to a maximum of N20,000 cash withdrawals per day. Only denominations of N200 and below shall be loaded into the ATMs,” the disclosure stated.
It also said, “the maximum cash withdrawal via point of sale (POS) terminal shall be N20,000 daily.”
As for cash withdrawals via OTC, the central bank stated that it would be N100,000 for individuals, with a 5 per cent processing fee for amounts above the cap, while for corporate organisations, the limit is N500,000 and 10 per cent charge for amounts above the limit.
“The maximum cash withdrawal over-the-counter (OTC) by individuals and corporate organizations per week shall henceforth be N100,000 and N500,000, respectively,” a part of the circular said.
