After pressure from Nigerians and lawmakers, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) raised the limit on how much cash you can take out of an ATM on Wednesday.
Weekly cash withdrawal limits of N500,000 for individuals and N5,000,000 for corporations have been increased. These limits apply to all channels, including point-of-sale (PoS) terminals and automated teller machines (ATMs).
The apex bank stated in a circular released on Wednesday and signed by its Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna Mustafa, that the maximum weekly limit for cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate organizations through all channels shall be N500,000.00 and N5,000,000.00, respectively.
The top bank insisted that the change was made based on comments from stakeholders following its initial announcement on December 6, 2022, and that the directive will take effect on January 9, 2023.
On December 6, 2022, the CBN issued an order directing Deposit Money Banks (DMOs) and other financial institutions to make sure that weekly over-the-counter (OTC) cash withdrawals by both private persons and business entities did not exceed N100,000 and N500,000, respectively.
It also stated that the daily withdrawal limit from ATMs and PoS terminals was N20,000, and that only notes worth N200 or less would be accepted.
The CBN said that the new policy came after President Muhammadu Buhari changed the N200, N500, and N1,000 bills on November 23, 2022.
Millions of Nigerians disagreed with the directive, and members of the National Assembly expressed their indignation. Politicians said that the strategy was meant to hurt the opposition parties before the general elections in 2023, while many point-of-sale (PoS) operators said that it would make it hard for them to do their jobs and could even cost them their jobs.
The apex bank, however, changed the weekly cash withdrawal limits on Wednesday to N500,000 for private individuals and N5 million for corporate businesses.
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