On Wednesday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) approved an increase in the regulation governing cash withdrawal limits after facing pressure from many Nigerians and lawmakers.
Weekly cash withdrawal limits of N500,000 for individuals and N5,000,000 for corporations have been increased. These limits apply to all channels, including automated teller machines (ATMs) and point-of-sale (PoS) terminals.
“The maximum weekly limit for cash withdrawal across all channels by individuals and corporate organisations shall be N500,000.00 and N5,000,000.00 respectively,” the apex bank said in a circular issued on Wednesday signed by its Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna Mustafa.
The top bank insisted that the change was made based on comments from stakeholders following its initial announcement on December 6, 2022, and that the directive will take effect on January 9, 2023.
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On December 6, 2022, the CBN issued an order directing Deposit Money Banks (DMOs) and other financial institutions to make sure that weekly over-the-counter (OTC) cash withdrawals by both private persons and business entities did not exceed N100,000 and N500,000, respectively.
Additionally, it had stated that N20,000 was the daily maximum that may be withdrawn from ATMs and PoS terminals, and that only notes for N200 or less would be placed into the ATMs.
The CBN had stated that the new policy followed President Muhammadu Buhari’s November 23, 2022, introduction of the revised N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.
Millions of Nigerians disagreed with the directive, and members of the National Assembly expressed their indignation. Politicians claimed the strategy was directed at the opposition parties in advance of the 2023 general elections, while many PoS operators claimed it would stifle their activities and cost them their jobs.
However, the apex bank changed the weekly cash withdrawal caps on Wednesday to N500,000 for private persons and N5m for corporate businesses.
Read the complete statement: