Central Bank limits maximum ATM withdrawals to N20,000 and N100,000 monthly

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has implemented a daily ATM withdrawal restriction of N20,000 for individual accounts and a cap of N50,000 for over-the-counter third party checks. The order also stated a restriction of N100,000 maximum weekly ATM withdrawals

Before introducing the redesign of the naira, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele indicated ambitions to ensure that the Nigeran economy completely eliminates cash.

He also claimed that the higher-denomination notes will only be utilized as a store of value because there will be more of the lower-denomination notes in circulation when advocating for the redesign of the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.

In line with this, the apex bank announced in a circular dated December 6, 2022 and signed by the CBN Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna Mustafa, that as of January 9, 2023, banks will only load N200 notes and less into their ATMs (ATMs).

The circular, which was distributed to all deposit money banks, payment service banks, microfinance banks, and primary mortgage banks in the nation, states that the weekly withdrawal restrictions for both private persons and corporate organizations cannot exceed N100,000 and N500,000.

According to the circular, withdrawals that exceed these thresholds will be subject to processing costs of 5% for private persons and 10% for business organizations. “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,” it said.

The circular further specified that “only denominations of N200 and less shall be placed into the ATMs,” and that the maximum cash withdrawal through ATM per week shall be N100,000 subject to a maximum of N20,000 cash withdrawal per day. The daily cap on cash withdrawals using point of sale (PoS) terminals was set at N20,000. You can read the full CBN circular here