By Asmau Ahmad
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reduced the cash withdrawal limit for individuals from N500,000 to N100,000 and that of corporate organizations from N3 million to N500,000.
The apex bank has set N100,000 and N500,000 as the maximum limits for over-the-counter withdrawals by individuals and legal entities, respectively, from January 9, 2023.
This was revealed on Tuesday in a letter signed by Haruna Mustafa, director of banking supervision at CBN. The revised cash withdrawal limit followed the launch of the redesigned naira notes by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 23, 2022, and in line with CBN’s cashless policy.
The letter, addressed to all banks and other financial institutions, said cash withdrawals above the established limit will generate a processing fee of 5 percent for individuals and 10 percent for companies.
“It’s another step in furthering the cashless economy agenda of the Central Bank of Nigeria,” said Ayodele Akinwunmi, corporate banking relationship manager at FSDH Merchant Bank Limited.
According to the letter, third-party checks above N50,000 will not be eligible for cash pickup, while the N10 million limits on compensation checks still remain.
The CBN said the maximum cash withdrawal per week via ATM will be N100,000 subject to a maximum cash withdrawal of N20,000 per day, adding that they will only be charged at ATMs. denominations of N200 and below.
The maximum cash withdrawal through the point of sale (PoS) terminal will be N20,000 per day. “However, in exigent circumstances, not more than once a month, when cash withdrawals above prescribed limits are required for legitimate purposes, such cash withdrawal shall not exceed N5 million and N10 million for natural and legal persons, respectively, and will be subject to the referenced processing fees, in addition to enhanced due diligence and more reporting requirements,” it said.
The CBN listed certain information required for such dire circumstances, which is expected to be uploaded to the CBN portal created for that purpose.
Such information includes valid means of identification of the beneficiary (national identity card, international passport, driver’s license), bank verification number of the beneficiary, notarized statement from the client regarding the purpose of the cash withdrawal, approval from the senior management for the director beneficiary, if any, and the written approval of the managing director/CEO of the bank authorizing the withdrawal.
The CBN said that monthly returns from cash-out transactions above specified limits must be turned over to the banking supervision department.
“Compliance with existing AML/CFT regulations related to Know Your Customer (KYC), ongoing customer due diligence and suspicious transaction reporting, etc., is required in all circumstances,” the CBN said in the letter. .
The letter said that customers should be encouraged to use alternative channels (Internet banking, mobile banking apps, USSD, Card/PoS, eNaira, etc.) to carry out their banking transactions.
“The above regulatory directives will go into effect nationwide from January 9, 2023. Please follow the instructions accordingly,” it said.
