To promote the use of electronic payments systems in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria has set new limits on the amount of cash bank customers may withdraw at branches.
Beginning June 1, the country’s banks will have to set daily limits on cumulative free cash withdrawals by individual and corporate customers at 150,000 naira (US$962 or 671 euros) and 1 million naira respectively, according to a circular the central bank distributed to the country’s financial institutions.
The central bank also introduced a penalty system in which consumers must pay 100 naira per 1,000 naira they withdraw in excess of the limit; corporate customers will have to pay 200 naira per 1,000 naira withdrawn above the stipulated cumulative limit, according to the circular.
Further strengthening the regulation, the central bank said that it would not punish a ”first offender” bank or individual.
But if an individual or a bank makes or accepts a second transaction over the specified limit, then in addition to the fine for the second instance they also would face a fine for the first instance. Individuals’ fines would equal five times the amount payable in the first attempt, while banks would pay a fine equal to 10 times the amount.
To stop a similar overuse of checks, the central bank also ruled that branches no longer may cash customer checks that exceed 150,000 naira. Banks violating the policy would pay a 100,000 naira fine plus an amount equal to 10% the face value of the check.
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