Business

Cash Limits: PoS Operators Give CBN Ultimatum

Published

3 years ago

December 19, 2022

The Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria has expressed optimism that the Central Bank of Nigeria will reverse its cash withdrawal limits policy before the new year.

The AMMBAN National President, Victor Olojo, disclosed to The PUNCH that the National Assembly has promised to prevail on the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to revise the policy.

The new policy by the CBN fixed weekly cash withdrawals for individuals at N100, 000 and corporate bodies at N500,000 weekly.

The directive further said withdrawals above the thresholds would attract processing fees of five per cent and 10 per cent respectively, for individuals and corporate entities effective January 9.

In addition, third-party cheques above N50,000 shall not be eligible for over-the-counter payment while extant limits of N10 million on clearing cheques still remain.

The PoS operators had in a petition dated December 16, 2022 called on the CBN to review its policy and save 1.4m bank agents from losing their means of livelihood.

But giving an update on the issue, Olojo explained that the assurances given by the CBN and National assembly that POS operators would not be affected by the policy has made the group soft-pedal on its planned legal action.

He, however, warned that if the policy was not reversed before the end of the year, its members would take to the streets to demand its reversal and also drag the apex bank to court.

The PoS operators’ union president said, “We have not gone to court yet because we have gotten assurances and we are waiting for a formal response from the CBN. We have visited the National Assembly and we have also explored other tools at our disposal at this time.

“They have given words of assurance that mobile money and POS operators would not be affected. So, we are waiting for an official statement from the CBN. However, if anything doesn’t change by the end of the year, we will go to the streets to protest and go to court.

‘’Remember that the Director of Banking Supervision, Mustafa Haruna, was quoted on a television station to have categorically stated that mobile money and bank agents would not be affected, so we just want to take that as an assurance while waiting for a formal report. We have written to the CBN but we are yet to get a response.’’

Olojo further hinged his hopes on the assurances by the CBN governor that the policy would be flexible.

“The CBN governor also said they will be flexible, so we are waiting for a revised policy that shows the flexibility. The national assembly also said they will prevail on the governor as they are opposed to the new CBN policy,’’ he noted.

Also commenting on the policy, the Chairman, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Lagos State chapter, Dr Adams Adebayo confirmed to our correspondent that the association met with the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance And Other Financial Institutions on the matter last week.

“The Senate committee has assured the Council of MSMEs that the CBN Governor will review it, especially for PoS and small business owners,’’ Adebayo explained.

The CBN spokesman, Osita Nwanisobi, could not be reached for comments Sunday on when the apex bank would announce the review of the policy as calls to his phone indicated he was unavailable.

Commenting on the policy, the President, National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions, Abakpa Anthony said it was too harsh, adding that the CBN should have run a pilot system and see the level of compliance before introducing it.

He also argued that as much as the cashless policy would help Nigerians, the nation has not developed to the extent of implementing a full-blown cash limits policy.

The NUBIFI boss said, “The people in the rural areas do not have phones that support online transactions, and in most cases there won’t be a network to consummate transactions.”

He further stated that the ATM and PoS withdrawal limits may throw many Nigerians into poverty and render the POS operators jobless.

”Some cattle dealers who buy and sell in large numbers in the rural areas where there is no network; what will happen to them? When Nigeria is ripe for such policy, Nigerian workers will know.”

PUNCH

Business

JUST IN: CBN Removes Cash Deposit Limits, Raises Weekly Withdrawal To N500,000

Published

10 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has removed cash deposit limits and also increased the weekly cash withdrawal limit from N100,000 to N500,000.

The CBN made this known in a circular to all banks and other financial institutions, signed by Dr Rita Sike, Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department.

Sike said that the revisions formed part of ongoing efforts to moderate the rising cost of cash management and address security concerns.

According to her, it will also curb money laundering risks associated with heavy reliance on cash.

She said that the cash-related policies previously issued in response to evolving circumstances were aimed at reducing cash usage and promoting the adoption of electronic payment channels.

“However, with time, the need to streamline and update these provisions to reflect present-day realities became necessary,” she said.

She said that with effect from Jan. 1, 2026, the cumulative deposit limit would be removed and the fee previously charged on excess deposits would no longer apply.

The director said that the cumulative weekly withdrawal limit across all channels has been reviewed to N500,000 for individuals and five million Naira for corporates.

“Withdrawals above these thresholds will attract excess withdrawal charges as specified,” she said. “The special monthly authorisation that allowed individuals to withdraw five million Naira and corporates N10 million once a month has been abolished.”

She said that for Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), daily withdrawal remains capped at N100,000 per customer, with a maximum of N500,000 weekly.

She said that this formed part of the overall weekly withdrawal limit applicable to all channels, including point-of-sale (POS) transactions.

Sike said that excess withdrawals above the stipulated limits would attract three per cent for individuals and five per cent for corporate customers.

According to her, this will be shared in the ratio of 40 per cent to the CBN and 60 per cent to the operating bank or financial institution.

She directed banks to load all currency denominations in ATMs, while the existing limit on over-the-counter encashment of third-party cheques remains pegged at N100,000.

Sike said that such withdrawals would be counted as part of the cumulative weekly limit.

The director said that banks were also required to render monthly returns to the relevant supervisory departments.

She listed the departments to include the Banking Supervision Department, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, and the Payments System Supervision Department.

Sike said that revenue-generating accounts of federal, state, and local governments were exempted from the new withdrawal rules.

She said that accounts of microfinance banks and primary mortgage banks held with commercial and non-interest banks are also exempted from the new rules.

She, however, said that the long-standing exemption previously enjoyed by embassies, diplomatic missions, and aid-donor agencies had been removed.

Business

Naira Records Depreciation Against US Dollar Across Official, Black Markets

Published

1 day ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

The naira depreciated against the dollar at the official and parallel foreign exchange markets on Monday to begin the new month on a bearish note.

Central Bank of Nigeria’s data showed that the Naira weakened to N1,448.44 on Monday, down from N1,446.74 traded on Friday last week.

This means that the naira dropped by N1.7 against the dollar on Monday when compared to Friday.

Similarly, at the black market, the Naira declined by N5 to N1,475 on Monday from N1,470 at the close of work last week.

The development comes as Nigeria’s foreign reserves stood at $44.61 billion as of November 27th, 2025.

Business

NNPCL Revenue, Profit Soar To N5.08tn, N447bn In October

Published

4 days ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has announced a significant revenue increase to N5.078 trillion for October 2025.

The state-owned firm disclosed this in its monthly financial report released on Saturday.

According to the financial report, from N5.078 revenue in October, the company posted a N447 profit after tax.

The figure represents a significant 19.2 percent increase in revenue from N4.26 trillion and a 106 percent rise in PAT from N216 billion in September 2025.

The report stated that from January to September, NNPCL paid N11.150 trillion in statutory payments to the federation.

Four days ago, NNPCL posted a total of N45.1 trillion as total revenue for the 2024 financial year.