By Our Reporter
The Central Bank Governor, Olayemi Cardoso has said that the bank will sanction banks that fail to dispense cash through their Automated Teller Machines, ATM.
The CBN governor stated this during a press briefing at the end of the 297th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held recently in Abuja.
According to Cardoso, the action follows the apex bank’s efforts to ensure sufficient cash in circulation, while stating that all money banks must certify there is always enough cash available for withdrawals.
To this end, the CBN has set up a monitoring system to ensure compliance, warning that any bank not adhering to this directive will face penalties.
Cardoso said that the CBN’s monitoring and spot-checking system would keep track of banks’ compliance, and those failing to meet the requirement would be duly sanctioned.
In July 2024, the amount of currency outside the banking system in Nigeria decreased. This marked the second decline in the year 2024. It also represents a reduction of 3.32% (N130 billion) from the previous month’s figure of N3.79 trillion, highlighting the CBN’s ongoing efforts aimed at tightening liquidity and encouraging deposits into the formal banking sector.
Against this backdrop, CBN plans to improve cash flow within the banking system with plans to release an additional N1.4 trillion into circulation over the next three months, to address the problem of cash shortage and provide sufficient cash in ATMs across bank branches.