The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has amended its earlier weekly limit for cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate organisations.
This was in a circular issued by the CBN and made available to newsmen on Wednesday.
According to the apex bank, the policy was revised after consultations with stakeholders.
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The circular partly read:
“Following our circular BSD/DIRIPUB/LAB/015/069 dated December 6, 2022, on the above subject and based on feedback received from stakeholders, the CBN, hereby makes the following reviews:
“The maximum weekly limit for cash withdrawal across all channels by individuals and corporate organisations shall be N500,000 and N5,000,000, respectively.
“In compelling circumstances where cash withdrawal above the limits in (1) above is required for legitimate purposes, such requests shall be subject to a processing fee of three per cent and five per cent for individuals and corporate organisations, respectively.
“Further to (2) above, the financial institution shall obtain the following information from the customer, at the minimum, and upload the same on the CBN portal created for the purpose.”
a. Valid means of identification of the payee (National ID, International Passport, or Driver’s License); Bank Verification Number, BVN, of the payee; Tax Identification Number, TIN, of both the payee and the payer; Approval in writing by the MD/CEO of the financial institution authorising the withdrawal.
“Third-party cheques above N100,000 shall not be eligible for payment over the counter, while the extant limit of N10million on clearing cheques still subsists.
“Kindly further note the following: “Monthly, returns on cash withdrawal transactions above the specified limits should be rendered to the Banking Supervision, Other Financial Institutions Supervision and Payments System Management Departments as applicable.
“Compliance with extant AML/CFT regulations relating to KYC, ongoing Customer due diligence, CDD, currency and suspicious transaction reporting, STR , etc., is mandatory in all circumstances.
“Customers should be encouraged to use alternative channels (internet banking, mobile banking apps, USSD, cards/POS, eNaira, etc.) to conduct their banking transactions.
“Bank and Mobile Money Agents are important participants in the financial system, enabling access to financial services in underserved and rural communities. They will continue to perform these strategic functions, in line with existing regulations governing their activities.
“The CBN recognises the vital role that cash plays in supporting underserved and rural communities and will ensure an inclusive approach as it implements the transition to a more cash-less society.
“All banks and OFls are to note that aiding and abetting the circumvention of this policy will attract severe sanctions.
“The above directives supersede that of December 6, 2022, and take effect nationwide from January 9, 2023.”
Earlier, the CBN lowered the weekly over-the-counter cash withdrawal limit for individuals to N100,000 and corporate organisations to N500,000.
The bank also limited withdrawals at point-of-sale (POS) terminals and ATMs to N20,000 per day. An idea that sparked outrage among Nigerians.
The Nigerian National Assembly’s top and lower legislative chambers had both rejected the development.
The Senate had asked the apex bank to consider raising the withdrawal limit.
Also, the House of Representatives summoned Godwin Emefiele and directed that policy implementation be halted until the House was properly briefed on how the bank intended to implement the policy in a way that would benefit Nigerians.
