The Central Bank of Nigeria has imposed limits on cash withdrawals of its newly redesigned notes in a move to curb inflation, check counterfeiting and corruption.
In a memo issued to banks and other financial institutions on Tuesday by the Central Bank of Nigeria and signed by the Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna Mustafa, the CBN directed all banks and financial institutions with effect from January 9, 2023, that they applied new limits on over-the-counter withdrawals at just ₦100,000 ($225) per week for individuals and ₦500,000 ($1,123) for businesses.
The apex bank, in line with its cashless policy, also directed that only N200 and other lower denominations should be loaded into banks ATM machines.
“Further to the launch of the redesigned naira notes by the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Wednesday, November 23, 2022, and in line with the cashless policy of the CBN, all deposit, money banks and other financial institutions are hereby directed to note and comply with the following:
“Third-party checks 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 statement read.
Also, the apex bank stated that the maximum cash withdrawal per week via ATM should 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,” It said.
“The maximum cash withdrawal through the point of sale terminal shall /n20,000 daily.”
Customers will still be able to take out larger sums in some instances but will have to pay processing fees of between 5% and 10%.