Reactions have trailed the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, limit cash withdrawal to N100,000 weekly and N20,000 cash withdrawal via Point of Sale, POS, terminal.
Abigail, a Lagos based retail stores owner and operates POS on the side was shocked when this reporter met her Wednesday morning.
“I’ve not heard of it. But if it’s true, then it’s bad for business. The Host POS operators would have to fight it because they would be greatly affected.
” People come to withdraw as much as N50,000, 100,000 and sometimes even more. I use Money Point and Palm Pay. The Host have commission for every transaction made. So, this N20,000 daily transaction is going to affect them greatly. So they would have to fight against this policy.”
According to Abigail, POS services have made business transactions easy and pulled several unemployed graduates out of our saturated labour market.
“I have a graduate friend. The POS business is her main stay and she has several stands at strategic locations across the state.
This policy is certainly going to impact people like her negatively.”
Ayowumi deals in soft drinks, bulk sale of recharge cards as well as terminal for bills payment.
For her, the policy needs rejigging .
“How would major supermarkets operate?”, she asks.
“There are customers who make purchases as much as N50,000 and above. How do they make payment,” she queried
For Felix Ugobueze who operates a POS stand in a market in a sub surb in the Lagos area, the policy is a death kernel for operators.
“They should just tell us they don’t want people to go into the business again. When the business was first introduced, not many went into it because they didn’t think it was lucrative. But over time, many have realized the potentials in the business, so there are more POS stands doting the cities now.”
Felix who operated in Abia state for a year and half recently relocated to Lagos where he’s been doing business in the last four months. He says he makes as much as N500,000 on Saturdays.
“Saturday is my big day. Other days from Monday to Friday, I transfer as much as N200, 000. So this N20,000 policy is not acceptable.”
Below is a detail of the CBN withdrawal limit policy which comes into effect on January 9, 2023.
The Central Bank Of Nigeria has imposed fresh cash withdrawal limits on individuals and organisations, which takes effect from January 9, 2023.
According to a new memo to banks issued on Tuesday and signed by the Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna .B. Mustafa, individuals will only be able to withdraw N100,000 per week ( from over the counter, Point of Sale Machines or the Automated Teller Machines), while organisation can access N500,000 per week.
Banks have also been directed to load only N200 and lower denominations into their ATM.
The memo read: “Further to the launch of the redesigned naira notes by the President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, November 23, 2022, and in line with the cashless policy of the CBN, all deposit money banks and other financial institutions are hereby directed to note and comply with the following:
“1. The maximum cash withdrawal over the counter by individuals and corporate organisations per week shall henceforth be N100,000 and N500,000 respectively. Withdrawals above these limits shall attract processing fees of 5% and 10%, respectively.
“2. 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.
“3. The maximum cash withdrawal per week via Automated Teller Machine shall be N100,000 subject to a maximum of N20,000 cash withdrawal per day.
“4. Only denominations of N200 and below shall be loaded into the ATMs.
“5. The maximum cash withdrawal via the point of sale terminal shall be N20,000 daily.
“6. In compelling circumstances, not exceeding once a month, where cash withdrawals above the prescribed limits are required for legitimate purposes, such cash withdrawals shall not exceed N5,000,000.00 and N10,000,000.00 for individuals and corporate organisations, respectively, and shall be subject to the referenced processing fees in (1) 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:
“a. Valid means of identification of the payee (National Identity Card, International Passport, Drivers License.). b. Bank Verification Number of the payee. c. Notarised customer declaration of the purpose of 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: i. Monthly returns on cash withdrawal transactions above the specified limits should be rendered to the Banking Supervision Department. ii. Compliance with extant AMUCFT regulations relating to the 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.”