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

Report Any MRS Filling Stations Selling Fuel Above N739 Per Liter — Dangote Refinery To Nigerians

Published

1 day ago

December 23, 2025

Editor

Dangote Refinery has urged Nigerians to report any MRS filling station outlets nationwide selling fuel above the N739 per liter announced price.

The company disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

The refinery insisted that its petrol being at retail outlets remain N739 per liter while the gantry price is N699.

It further called on other filling station owners to patronize its refined petroleum products at the N699 rate.

“We also call on other petrol station operators to patronize our products so that the benefits of this price reduction can be passed on to Nigerians across all outlets, ensuring broad-based relief and a more stable downstream market.”

Recall that Aliko Dangote, the president of Dangote Refinery, had pegged the retail price of his petrol at a maximum of N740.

DAILY POST reports that MRS filling and other filling stations had reduced fuel prices to between N739 and N912 per liter in Abuja.

However, reports emerged that some MRS filling stations were selling above the N739 per liter announced price benchmark.

Business

Naira Records Significant Appreciation Against US Dollar

Published

1 day ago

December 23, 2025

Editor

The Naira recorded significant appreciation against the United States dollar on Monday at the official foreign exchange market to begin the week ahead of Yuletide on a good note.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s data showed that the Naira strengthened to N1,456.56 per dollar on Monday, up from N1,464.49 traded on Friday last week, 19th December 2025.

This means that the Naira gained N7.93 against the dollar when compared with the N1,464.49 was exchanged as of Friday, December 19, 2025. DAILY POST reports that Monday’s gain at the official FX market is the first since December 15th.

Business

CBN Revokes Licences Of Aso Savings, Union Homes As NDIC Begins Deposit Payments

Published

1 week ago

December 16, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revoked the operating licences of Aso Savings and Loans Plc and Union Homes Savings and Loans Plc, citing persistent regulatory infractions and deepening financial distress in the two primary mortgage banks.

The revocation, which took effect on December 15, 2025, was carried out under Section 12 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 and Section 7.3 of the Revised Guidelines for Mortgage Banks in Nigeria, the CBN said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

According to the apex bank, the affected institutions failed to meet minimum paid-up share capital requirements, had insufficient assets to cover their liabilities, recorded capital adequacy ratios below prudential thresholds, and consistently breached regulatory directives.

“The CBN remains committed to its core mandate of ensuring financial system stability,” a statement, signed by the apex bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali said.

Following the licence revocation, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) was appointed liquidator of the defunct banks in line with the law.

The Corporation said it has commenced the liquidation process and begun verification and payment of insured deposits to customers.

Under the deposit insurance framework, depositors are entitled to receive up to two million naira per depositor, with payments made through BVN-linked alternate bank accounts.

Depositors with balances above the insured limit will receive the initial two million naira while the remaining sums will be paid as liquidation dividends after the realisation of the banks’ assets and recovery of outstanding loans.

The NDIC said depositors may submit claims either online or physically at designated branches of the closed banks, while creditors will be paid after all depositors have been fully settled, in accordance with statutory provisions.

The two mortgage banks have faced prolonged operational challenges, including depositor complaints, governance concerns, and delisting from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) in 2024 for failure to submit audited financial statements for more than six years.

The CBN assured the public that the action was taken to strengthen the mortgage banking sub-sector and protect depositors, adding that banks whose licences have not been revoked remain safe and sound.

This means the two financial institutions can no longer operate as licensed financial institutions.