By Ayo Kehinde
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a new policy on over-the-counter withdrawals for individual and corporate entities with effect from January 9, 2023.
The apex bank in a circular on Tuesday mandated deposit money banks and other financial institutions to ensure that over-the-counter cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities do not exceed N100,000 and N500,000, respectively per week.
The revised cash withdrawal limits, contained in a circular issued by Haruna Mustafa, Director of Banking Supervision, however, imposed a 5 per cent and 10 per cent processing fee on withdrawals above these limits.
The new policy is coming a fortnight after President Muhammadu Buhari launched the newly redesigned N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes in Abuja.
The other areas of note in the circular include th following:
- N100,000 and N500,000 weekly limit for personal and corporate accounts.
- Amounts over that limit attract a 5% and 10% processing charge respectively.
- Maximum withdrawal limit from ATM is N20,000 daily and N100,000 weekly.
- Only N200 notes will be loaded into the ATM.
- Maximum withdrawal via POS is N20,000 daily.
- In exceptional cases and not more than once a month, the amounts of N5m and N10m for personal and corporate accounts can be accessed. This will require approvals and payments of all effective charges (5% and 10% respectively)
- In emergencies necessitating individual withdrawal of up to N5m and N10m for corporate entity, proper documents must be presented by the payee. The documents include international passport, driver’s license, National ID, Bank Verification Number, Senior Management withdrawal by Managing Director of the drawee and Approval in writing by MD/CEO of the bank.
