The Director of Corporate Communications of the Central Bank, Mr Osita Nwanisobi has said that there is an exemption stipulated for Point-of-Sale operators concerning cash withdrawal limits given by the apex bank.
He stated that the exemption was to request more cash beyond the new limit according to the newly released circular.
Nwanisobi noted that POS operators could take advantage of this development due to its requirements, and in line with the number of transactions they process.
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He said:
“The circular is very clear. If you are doing PoS, it is online and mobile transaction. Whenever cash is involved, then there is a limit. However, there is an exemption in the circular, which PoS operators can apply for based on the volume of their transactions.“
Following the new directive, the National President, Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents of Nigeria, Victor Olojo, had said that POS operators would protest against the policy which he said was targeted at killing their livelihood.
Olojo argued that the cash limit would harm their business as it translated to shutting down POS terminals.
However, there was an exemption that allowed up to five million naira for individuals.
The exception also included corporate organisations a sum of ten million naira once a month but with certain requirements.
To enjoy the exemption, banks were required to obtain some information from the drawee and upload the same on the CBN portal created for the purpose.
The requirements include a valid means of identification such as the National Identity Card, international passport, or driving licence; Bank Verification Number of the payee; notarised customer declaration of the purpose of the cash withdrawal; senior management approval for the withdrawal by the managing director of the drawee where applicable and approval in writing by the MD/CEO of the bank authorising the withdrawal.
The guidelines insisted that monthly returns on cash withdrawal transactions above the specified limits will be rendered to the banking supervision department.
Also, compliance with extant anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regulations relating to Know Your Customer, ongoing customer due diligence, and suspicious transaction reporting are required in all circumstances.
There was a likely effect of the policy on the people in the rural areas, who regularly deal with cash, according to Nwanisobi.
On that he said :
“The policy only states that you cannot go beyond a particular limit. It doesn’t stop anybody from using cash. So, those in the rural area can still transact with the available cash.”
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