The apex bank announced in a letter to bank branches that the withdrawal limit for individuals and corporate organisations has been raised to N500,000 and N5 million, respectively.
The central bank stated that it made the decision based on feedback from stakeholders.
CBN’s Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna Mustafa, made this known in a new circular dated December 21, 2022, and issued to all deposit money banks, other financial institutions, banking agents as well as mobile money operators.
The letter quoting all Deposit Money Banks (DBMS) and other Financial Institutions [Payment Service Banks (PSBs), Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs), Microfinance Banks (MFBs), Mobile Money Operators (MMOs) and Agents], as stakeholders said customers should be encouraged to use alternative channels (internet banking, mobile banking apps, USSD, cards/POS, eNaira, etc) to conduct their banking transactions.
The apex bank stated that the new directives supersede that of December 6, 2022, and take effect nationwide from January 9, 2023.
The circular read in part: “Following our circular BSD/DIR/PUB/LAB/015/069 dated December 6, 2022, on the above subject and based on feedback received from stakeholders, the Central Bank of Nigeria (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 million respectively. In compelling circumstances where cash withdrawal above the limits is required for legitimate purposes, such requests shall be subject to a processing fee of three percent and five percent for individuals and corporate organizations, respectively.”
“In other to be able to exceed the limit, financial institutions are to obtain the following information from the customer, at the minimum, and upload the same on the CBN portal created for the purpose: Valid means of identification of the payee (National ID, International Passport, or Driver’s Licence), Bank Verification Number (BVN) of the payee, Tax Identification Number (TIN) of both the payee and the payer and 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 N10 million on clearing cheques still subsists.”
“Banks are to render monthly returns on cash withdrawal transactions above the specified limits to the Banking Supervision, Other Financial Institutions Supervision, and Payments System Management Departments as applicable.
“They are also expected to comply with extant AML/CFT regulations relating to KYC, ongoing customer due diligence, currency and suspicious transaction reporting, etc., which is mandatory in all circumstances.”
It added, “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.”
“All banks and OFIs 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,” said the letter signed by the Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna B. Mustapha.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has failed to increase the maximum weekly limit for cash withdrawals through Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and Point of Sale terminals (POS).
Recall that the apex bank had said that customers can only withdraw N20,000 per day from their accounts through POS operators or ATMs.
