Nigeria’s regulatory bank caps cash withdrawals to N100,000; N500,000 weekly

The Central Bank of Nigeria has imposed fresh cash withdrawal limits on individuals and organisations, which takes effect from January 9, 2023.

According to a new memo to banks issued on Tuesday and signed by the Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna .B. Mustafa, individuals will only be able to withdraw N100,000 per week ( from over-the-counter, Point of Sale Machines or the Automated Teller Machines), while organisations can access N500,000 per week.

Banks have also been directed to load only N200 and lower denominations into their ATM.

The CBN says it’s in line with the cashless policy of the apex bank and thereby instructed all deposit money banks and other financial institutions to comply with the new directives;

The maximum cash withdrawal over the counter by individuals and corporate organizations per week shall henceforth be N100,000 and N500,000 respectively. Withdrawals above these limits shall attract processing fees of 5% and 10%, respectively.

Third-party cheques above N50,000 shall not be eligible for payment over the counter, while extant limits of N10,000,000 on clearing cheques still subsist.

The maximum cash withdrawal per week via Automated Teller Machine shall be N100,000 subject to a maximum of N20,000 cash withdrawal per day.

Only denominations of N200 and below shall be loaded into the ATMs.

The maximum cash withdrawal via the point-of-sale terminal shall be N20,000 daily.

The CBN said in compelling circumstances, not exceeding once a month, where cash withdrawals above the prescribed limits would be required for legitimate purposes, such cash withdrawals shall not exceed N5,000,000.00 and N10,000,000.00 for individuals and corporate organisations, respectively, and shall be subject to the referenced processing fees in addition to enhanced due diligence and further information requirements.

The new regulatory directives will take effect nationwide from January 9, 2023.