The Central Bank of Nigeria has imposed fresh cash withdrawal limits on individuals and organisations.
In a memo signed by the Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna Mustafa, and issued to banks, individuals will only be able to withdraw N100,000 per week (from over the counter, Point of Sale Machines or the Automated Teller Machines), while organisations can access N500,000 per week.
The memo also directed Banks to load only N200 and lower denominations of Naira into their ATMs.
The memo read, “Further to the launch of the redesigned naira notes by President Muhammadu Buhari 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:
1. The maximum cash withdrawal over the counter by individuals and corporate organisations per week shall henceforth be N100,000 and N500,000 respectively. Withdrawals above these limits shall attract processing fees of 5% and 10%, respectively.
2. Third-party cheques above N50,000 shall not be eligible for payment over the counter, while extant limits of N10,000,000 on clearing cheques still subsist.
3. The maximum cash withdrawal per week via Automated Teller Machine shall be N100,000 subject to a maximum of N20,000 cash withdrawal per day.
4. Only denominations of N200 and below shall be loaded into the ATMs.
5. The maximum cash withdrawal via the point of sale terminal shall be N20,000 daily.
The Apex bank however said in compelling circumstances, not exceeding once a month, where cash withdrawals above the prescribed limits would be required for legitimate purposes, such cash withdrawals shall not exceed N5,000,000.00 and N10,000,000.00 for individuals and corporate organisations, respectively, and shall be subject to the referenced processing fees in (1) above, in addition to enhanced due diligence and further information requirements.
It also said banks were required to obtain the following information at the minimum and upload same on the CBN portal created for the purpose:
a. Valid means of identification of the payee (National Identity Card, International Passport, Drivers License.).
b. Bank Verification Number of the payee.
c. Notarised customer declaration of the purpose of the cash withdrawal.
d. Senior management approval for the withdrawal by the Managing Director of the drawee, where applicable.
e. Approval in writing by the MD/CEO of the bank authorising the withdrawal.
The memo further notes the following:
i. Monthly returns on cash withdrawal transactions above the specified limits should be rendered to the Banking Supervision Department.
ii. Compliance with extant AMUCFT regulations relating to the KYC, ongoing customer due diligence and suspicious transaction reporting etc., is required in all circumstances.
iii. Customers should be encouraged to use alternative channels (internet banking, mobile banking apps, USSD, cards/POS. eNaira, etc.) to conduct their banking transactions.
Finally, the memo also noted that aiding and abetting the circumvention of this policy will attract severe sanctions.
According to the memo, the above regulatory directives take effect nationwide from January 9, 2023.
Emmanuel Ukoh
