- Nigeria has banned ATM cash withdrawals over $225 a week.
- This is in a hedge to force the use of Central Bank Digital Currency.
- CBN permits exceeding the limitations once per month “in compelling circumstances.”
The new cash withdrawal limitations were outlined in a formal letter from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to commercial banks and other financial institutions. The new regulation severely limits the amount of money people and businesses may withdraw from ATMs and over-the-counter (OTC).
The guidelines were just released along with newly designed Naira notes. Additionally, it is consistent with the bank’s cashless policy. The policy aims to “promote development and modernization” of the nation’s payment system.
The CBN regulation sets a weekly OTC withdrawal limit of ₦ 100,000 and ₦ 500,000, or $225 and $1,225. This applies to private people and business entities, respectively. The limit withdrawals from ATMs are ₦ 20,000 ($45) per day in denominations of ₦ 200 or less and ₦ 100,000 per week in total. The daily withdrawal cap at the point of sale is ₦ 20,000.
On the other side, CBN mercifully permits exceeding the limitations once per month “in compelling circumstances,” but only up to a certain amount. The maximum withdrawal amounts for people and corporations with valid interest are 5,000,000 and 10,000,000, respectively.
The CBN directs subordinate institutions to report any suspicious transactions. It also advises alerts to the Banking Supervision Department prior to any withdrawals that exceed the permitted amount.
After that, it suggests that users be urged to adopt digital payment methods such as USSD, cards/POS, online banking, mobile banking applications, and eNaira, the digital currency issued by the national bank of Nigeria (CBDC).
