In an apparent move to strengthen the Naira, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has capped weekly cash withdrawal for individuals and corporate organizations to N100,000 and N500,OOO respectively.
The development was contained in a circular signed and issued to all deposit money banks (DMBs) and other financial institutions (OFls)
by the CBN’s Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna Mustapha, Tuesday in Abuja.
According to the circular, withdrawals above these limits shall attract processing fees of 5% and 10%, respectively.
CBN said, Third party cheques above k50,OOO shall not be eligible for payment over the counter, while extant limits of El on clearing cheques still subsist.
The apex bank said, the maximum cash withdrawal per week via Automated Teller Machine (ATM) shall be NI 00,000 subject to a maximum of N20,000 cash withdrawal per day.
It said, only denominations of N200 and below shall be loaded into the ATMs, while the maximum cash withdrawal via point of sale (POS) terminal shall be N20,000 daily.
The bank said, “in compelling circumstances, not exceeding once a month, where cash withdrawals above the prescribed limits is required for legitimate purposes, such cash withdrawals shall not exceed and for individuals and corporate organisations, respectively, and shall be subject to the referenced processing fees in (I) above, in addition to enhanced due diligence and further information requirements.
“Further to (6) above, you are required to obtain the following information at the minimum and upload same on the CBN portal created for the purpose:
i. Classified as Confidential
a. Valid means of identification of the payee (National ID, International Passport, Driver’s License).
b. Bank Verification Number (BVN) of the payee.
c. Notarized customer declaration of the purpose for the cash withdrawal.
d. Senior management approval for the withdrawal by the Managing Director of the drawee, where applicable.
e. Approval in writing by the MD/CEO of the bank authorising the withdrawal. Please further note the following: Monthly returns on cash withdrawal transactions above the specified limits should be rendered to the Banking Supervision Department.
ii. Compliance with extant AML/CFT regulations relating to KYC, ongoing customer due diligence and suspicious transaction reporting etc. is required in all circumstances.
iii. Customers should be encouraged to use alternative channels (internet banking, mobile banking apps, USSD, cards/POS, eNaira, etc.) to conduct their banking transactions.
“Finally, please note that aiding and abetting the circumvention of this policy will attract severe sanctions. The above regulatory directives take effect nationwide from January 9, 2023. Please be guided accordingly”, the circular said.
